


Fódlan Alternative {Part One: White Clouds}

by digitaldreams



Series: Fódlan Alternative [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: 40 characters from 40 different creators come together for this story, Fodlan, Fódlan Alternative, Garreg Mach Monastery, Officers Academy, alternative universe, an enter your character adventure from yours truly, but it's set in three houses, enter your own character, entrance slots are closed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2020-08-10 05:49:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 81
Words: 283,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20130358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digitaldreams/pseuds/digitaldreams
Summary: In an alternate universe, a new class is starting their year at Garreg Mach Monastery. You find yourself alone and without any memories near the monastery, but a chance encounter leads You to the Officers Academy. There, You receive a job as an assistant aiding in teaching the newest class in how to fight. You accept the offer since You have nowhere else to go, but something darker seems to be lurking behind the scenes. On top of that, an odd girl named Seraphine has appeared before You, someone only You can see and hear. Fódlan is quickly slipping into chaos, and You are attempting to stop it, but You have no idea what the future holds...





	1. Character Teasers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary of the characters submitted.
> 
> EDIT: The cast teaser set is complete!

Meet the cast of Fódlan Alternative!

** _The Black Eagles_ **

The Black Eagle House is made up of students from the Adrestian Empire and surrounding nations. It is led by the heir of the Empire this year. The students of the Empire tend to lean towards using magical skills.

Meet the Students:

House Leader: Chris von Faixnoye  
Age: 17  
Birthday: October 17  
Sexuality: Lesbian  
Crest: Major Crest of Seiros  
Creator: digitaldreams  
Chris is the heir of the Adrestian Empire set to be its next ruler. Despite her heritage, she is quiet and awkward, not used to speaking with others. Her time at Garreg Mach marks her first departure from the capital of Adrestia. Behind her shyness and introversion, she hides a silent enmity for Crests and the system they create.

Advisor: Polly Riverbane  
Age: 19  
Birthday: February 20  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: Minor Crest of Cichol  
Creator: Girlinatophat  
The aloof advisor of the Black Eagles, Polly has been with Chris for over a decade. The two are close companions, and Polly is fiercely loyal to her. She keeps her emotions in check and rarely shows much of how she feels, but she seems to be hiding a large secret behind her peculiar and consistent silence.

Student: Florence Eaton  
Age: 19  
Birthday: March 10  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: N/A  
Creator: shxny  
Before being invited to the monastery, Florence worked as a mercenary in the Empire. She came to the school with a scholarship in hopes of bettering herself. She is talkative and confident. Years of observation taught her how to be practical and resourceful with what she's given, turning her into a crafty young woman.

Student: Zelhira von Schlarzer  
Age: 18  
Birthday: September 14  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: Minor Crest of Cethleann  
Creator: LyraPhoenix  
Zelhira is a rather cynical and deadpan person to most. She is distant upon first coming into contact with someone, keeping to herself a majority of the time. For reasons unknown, Zelhira seems to expect scorn from the people around her regardless of how long they've known one another.

Student: Hegias Chymes  
Age: 18  
Birthday: August 24  
Sexuality: Pansexual  
Crest: Major Crest of Ernest  
Creator: Strix  
Hegias gained a spot in the academy for his incredible fighting prowess despite being born a commoner. Years of being sheltered resulted in him being rather awkward and unsure of how to interact with others. He wishes to reach out but ultimately lacks the knowledge on how to do so, leaving him somewhat lonely.

Student: Callisto Alteria  
Age: 19  
Birthday: April 20  
Sexuality: Asexual Aromantic  
Crest: N/A  
Creator: solxlilly  
Callisto is one of few commoners who made it into the Black Eagles. Upon arriving, she began telling her tales to all who would listen in between performing displays of grandeur. Callisto is talkative and friendly on top of being open-minded and adaptable. She has a mischievous side she hides behind a perfect smile.

Student: Tuncay Yangalev  
Age: 20  
Birthday: May 31  
Sexuality: Pansexual  
Crest: N/A  
Creator: StattStatt  
Tuncay is the weapon specialist among the Black Eagles. They have a history in blacksmithing and share their knowledge with the others in their house. They are blunt and honest, preferring to spend time with weapons rather than people. They hold disdain for the current system of nobility, believing strength should be earned and not given.

Student: Aquillus von Einem  
Age: 18  
Birthday: December 5  
Sexuality: Heterosexual  
Crest: Minor Crest of Macuil  
Creator: Jay von Ike  
Aquillus is a quieter member of his house, often keeping to himself and holding others at arm's length. He does have a kind heart, but he seems to struggle with allowing people into his bubble, choosing to remain distant instead. He remains dignified and solemn at all times and dislikes meaningless conversation.

** _The Blue Lions_ **

The Blue Lions House is made up of students from the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. The future ruler of the Kingdom is the house leader this year. The students from this wintry kingdom have a bias towards lance usage.

House Leader: Magnolia Václev Josefa  
Age: 18  
Birthday: July 10  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: Minor Crest of Blaiddyd  
Creator: MaggyFall  
The Blue Lions' house leader is known for her pleasant demeanor and desire to befriend others. While she initially shows herself to be rather clumsy, Magnolia has a sweet heart and wishes to get along with all. She tends to bottle her emotions, something none would be able to see through the mask of kindness and loyalty she puts up.

Student: Aestlyn Pluvia Aster  
Age: 17  
Birthday: August 2  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: Minor Crest of Noa  
Creator: misaki  
Aestlyn was invited to the Officers Academy after a year at the Fhirdiad School of Sorcery. She's a gifted mage always looking out for her companions. She holds her friends in high regard and focuses on them above all else. She has a quiet passion for singing, shown by her frequent humming as she roams the monastery.

Student: Nora Marie von Tarantulus  
Age: 19  
Birthday: June 30  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: N/A  
Creator: Otherworldly Merchant Anna  
Nora is one of the rare students of the Academy lacking a Crest. Despite that, this cold and solemn fighter is not one to be trifled with. Her skills with defeating bandits are praised by merchants in Faerghus. Behind her bluntness, Nora is rather generous, looking out for others whenever she can.

Student: Illona de la Brache  
Age: 18  
Birthday: October 3  
Sexuality: Polysexual Polyamorous  
Crest: Minor Crest of Ernest  
Creator: fluorescent_mango  
Illona is a quieter member of the Blue Lions house. She prefers to examine things from a polite distance as opposed to getting too close. Social interactions tend to leave her flustered, causing her to babble and say ridiculous things in her surprise. Illona seems to have a peculiar talent with lying, forcing her into many odd situations.

Student: Kyle von Dragoste  
Age: 17  
Birthday: June 15  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: N/A  
Creator: KyleDoesn'tKnowAnymore  
Kyle is a laidback and kind priest who used to work in the monastery prior to the school year. He dislikes conflict, instead opting to heal people who need it. Kyle is rather flirtatious and has a habit of expressing his affection for those around him. He holds a passion for performing and longs to be an actor after graduation.

Student: Karim Faren  
Age: 17  
Birthday: November 22  
Sexuality: Heterosexual  
Crest: Major Crest of Gautier  
Creator: SmolPidge  
Karim is a genuine and kind soul among the Blue Lions. He holds a deep curiosity regarding magic and wishes to learn as much about it as he can. He does his best to reach out to others and help them, though this does cause him to be somewhat gullible. Karim can get distracted easily despite his good intentions and strong work ethic.

Student: Cassia Regan Berniere  
Age: 17  
Birthday: December 2  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: Major Crest of Fraldarius  
Creator: sieghxrts  
Cassia comes off as a perfect noblewoman to most around her. She is refined, polite, and elegant. She deeply values freedom and enjoys escaping from the monastery to fly atop a pegasus when possible. Cassia is meticulous in her preparation, though she does struggle with improvisation and can be caught off guard when something disturbs her plans.

Advisor: Falon von Chevalier  
Age: 19  
Birthday: August 12  
Sexuality: Asexual Aromantic  
Crest: Minor Crest of Chevalier  
Creator: Jai Scian  
Falon's loud personality may come off as overbearing at first, but her care for the Blue Lions is unmatched. She's talkative and passionate, easily helping others out of their shells. She could easily be called a mother hen in her house. For someone of noble blood, she holds an odd fixation with commoners and struggles with her ideas of status.

** _The Golden Deer_ **

The Golden Deer House is made up of students from the Leicester Alliance and its surrounding territories. The future archduke of the Alliance is leading the house this year. Students from this house have a focus on using bows.

House Leader: Raithius Origo  
Age: 17  
Birthday: March 27  
Sexuality: Heterosexual  
Crest: Major Crest of Riegan  
Creator: Feralinape392  
The Golden Deer's house leader is a friendly and approachable young man. Raithius does his best to help out those around him to the best of his ability. He's open with his feelings and reaches out to all those he can. However, his primary weakness, his nervousness in regard to women, can easily find him in awkward situations

Student: Sofia von Ruden  
Age: 18  
Birthday: February 14  
Sexuality: Lesbian  
Crest: N/A  
Creator: periiwrinkles  
Among the Golden Deer, Sofia's flirting skills are second to none. She can be found spending time with women at the academy when not otherwise occupied. She's a goofy young girl looking to have a good time while at the monastery. Sofia hides the facts about her personal life well and rarely speaks of her past to anyone.

Student: Wolfgang Zachariel  
Age: 17  
Birthday: October 31  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: Minor Crest of Chevalier  
Creator: stallionflame  
Wolfgang is a sweet character originating from a rundown region of Leicester few dare to visit. She is kind and polite to all, though she doesn't hesitate to let loose and unleash her loud, talkative side around those she holds dear. In her free time, she can be found tending to her pet owl and best friend, Olive.

Student: Cedric von Eir  
Age: 19  
Birthday: June 9  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: Minor Crest of Gloucester  
Creator: GuliGotGames  
Cedric is an overall peaceful young man with a strong sense of justice. He fights for what he finds to be righteous above all else. Despite being a fighter, he dislikes fighting and far prefers politics and negotiation to combat. Cedric has an intense interest in Crests and yearns to learn more about them.

Student: Adeline von Amoderor  
Age: 17  
Birthday: January 8  
Sexuality: Pansexual  
Crest: Major Crest of Noa  
Creator: notyagirl  
Adeline is initially rather difficult to convince to open up. She's quiet and avoids people. However, the perfect way to get into her heart is to talk about her affinity for dancing. She hates to be bossed around and longs to stand as her own person in the world away from the influence of others.

Advisor: Novalee Taliaferro  
Age: 18  
Birthday: June 8  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: Major Crest of Goneril  
Creator: AceAttorneyFan  
Novalee is a quiet and strategic person often seen as an enigma by others. She is incredibly loyal to Raithius, claiming that she owes her life to him. Her life before she came to the monastery is a mystery, and any who ask receive vague answers at best regarding what keeps her up at night.

Student: William Urswick  
Age: 18  
Birthday: January 15  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: Major Crest of Maurice  
Creator: AlphaOutlaw  
William is known by his classmates to be a serious and intelligent individual. He is somewhat talkative and does his best to connect with others where possible. He takes any situation that comes towards him in stride and acts rationally. Behind this, he's a nervous young man with insatiable curiosity about the world around him.

Student: Leamhnachd Homeros Mikhailikov   
Age: 18  
Birthday: March 12  
Sexuality: Heterosexual  
Crest: Minor Crest of Daphnel  
Creator: Len  
Leamhnachd, called Lev by his friends, is a timid student with a passion for wyvern care. He holds a deep hatred for those who manipulate others for their own gain and is rather apologetic. He is cautious and steps carefully around most situations but lets his true self show around his wyvern partner, Travant.

** _The Church of Seiros_ **

The Church of Seiros is the primary religion in the region of Fódlan. The Central Church houses the Garreg Mach Monastery where the Officers Academy is located. Officials of the church are loyal to its archbishop above all else.

Archbishop: Aisa  
Age: ???  
Birthday: December 12  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: N/A  
Creator: Mythra  
Aisa is the mysterious archbishop leading the church at Garreg Mach. She has a kind, serene aura that makes her seem like a goddess in her own right. She is a heavily religious person and is proud to serve the church. Behind this, she seems to hold a fear of conflict, though none have ever seen it fully.

Archbishop's Right Hand: Roy Zero  
Age: 23  
Birthday: August 5  
Sexuality: Homosexual  
Crest: N/A  
Creator: royster  
Despite his position as the archbishop's aid, Roy rarely lets his serious side show. He is playful and is glad to interact with all people of the monastery. However, his duties are always done properly regardless of how talkative is. He has a flair for dancing and tends to go seeking attention regardless of the consequences.

Professor: Herwig von Wessin  
Age: 29  
Birthday: December 22  
Sexuality: Heterosexual  
Crest: Minor Crest of Macuil  
Creator: Chipsy_21  
Herwig is a talented professor of the Academy known for his kind demeanor. He treats his students well and is happy to interact with them at any given time. However, he is hampered by his affinity for procrastination and generally awkward demeanor. He holds noble ideals for the future of Fódlan behind all this.

Professor: Reese das Schweighen  
Age: 29  
Birthday: December 18  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: Major Crest of Charon  
Creator: renren  
A former general of the Knights of Seiros, Reese is experienced in swordplay and teaches it at the academy. An injury forced him off the battlefield and into the classroom, changing him from a knight to a professor. He's a quiet man with a love for his naps. He tends to keep to himself, but it would be a foolish mistake to believe his silence makes him weak.

Professor: Jill Tysera  
Age: 32  
Birthday: November 23  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: Minor Crest of Timotheos  
Creator: Rushaudman  
Jill is easily the most intense of the professors at the monastery. She is blunt and comes off as harsh. She's strict and shows a sarcastic side quite frequently. However, she has a hidden passion for making potions and medicine. This ability allowed her to become the primary apothecary of the church soon after she began teaching at the school.

Church Assistant: Adrian Balsa  
Age: 18  
Birthday: June 21  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: Minor Crest of Ernest  
Creator: BlazingKnight  
Adrian is a graduate of the Officers Academy from the year before the new students appeared. He originates from Brigid but came to Fódlan to broaden his horizons. He's an optimistic and cheery young man with great hopes for his future, though he seems convinced Brigid will have nothing to do with his aspirations.

Librarian: Niko Iñigo Lavellan-Indech  
Age: 16  
Birthday: December 12  
Sexuality: Gay Demiromantic  
Crest: Major Crest of Indech  
Creator: bLuewErewOlf  
Niko is one of the youngest people in the monastery, and he works as the library's keeper to pay a debt back to the archbishop. He's rather laidback and relaxed, almost to a fault. He dislikes responsibility and often finishes his work early to be given more free time to be used on reading or taking naps.

Messenger: Nesreen Magdy  
Age: 16  
Birthday: April 16  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: N/A  
Creator: dakiume  
Nesreen came to the monastery after living in an orphanage for many years. She currently works as a messenger in service to the archbishop. She can be a bit guarded and has a sarcastic streak. While she is social, she is easily made suspicious and can come off as harsh without meaning to.

** _The Knights of Seiros_ **

The Knights of Seiros are the primary fighting force for the Central Church. They are the most skilled fighters in the land and are ready to defend the religion with their lives. It is difficult to find more powerful battlers than those within the knights.

Captain of the Knights: Cordelia Torryn  
Age: 28  
Birthday: August 16  
Sexuality: Pansexual  
Crest: Minor Crest of Indech  
Creator: stxrlight_darling  
Cordelia has been serving as the leader of the Knights of Seiros for a decade. Following the death of her father, she took up his old position and joined the knights with the intention of leading. She is stern yet caring and is incredibly serious about getting her work done. She has something of a motherly attitude.

Knight: Derric Leon Lavellan-Indech   
Age: 20  
Birthday: June 24  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: Minor Crest of Dominic  
Creator: D3-LL  
Derric is one of the youngest members of the Knights of Seiros. He firmly believes that people are good by nature and prefers talking through issues than fighting for a solution. He is rather trusting and can easily be taken advantage of. Derric is introverted and tends to keep to himself despite his kindness.

Knight: Yuliya Kholodova  
Age: 22  
Birthday: November 13  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: Minor Crest of Aubin  
Creator: quicksilver  
Yuliya is known for being a rather deadpan knight. She is often dry and harsh with others, scarcely giving anyone the chance to get to know her better. Yuliya is reckless with horrible habits regarding drinking that have found her in less than convenient situations in the past. Despite longing to become better with it, she is poor with magic.

Knight: Piers Daunce  
Age: 20  
Birthday: March 20  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: N/A  
Creator: akzeriuth  
Piers is a stoic young man who pushes all others away. He's intensely solemn and methodical, keeping routine almost to an unhealthy degree. He lives in the monastery alongside his younger sister, Taia, and has done so for over a decade. Not much is known about him due to his seemingly constant silence.

Knight: Kaeta Corin  
Age: 17  
Birthday: August 9  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: N/A  
Creator: kittikat41221  
Kaeta is a knight-in-training hoping to join the Seiros fighting force when she gets old enough to carry such a responsibility. She's lively and carefree but focuses intensely on training and fighting. However, she can be easily provoked and can grow rather violent when baited into a negative situation.

Knight: Rodain Belmontai  
Age: 27  
Birthday: July 13  
Sexuality: Heterosexual  
Crest: Major Crest of Charon  
Creator: Sigurd  
Rodain is a charismatic man who takes great pride in his heritage and Crest. He enjoys self-expression, whether it be from him or others. He tends to flirt with women, though he claims this is all in good fun and never serious. Despite his cheery outlook, should danger arise, he grows dark and solemn in the name of defending them.

Knight: Miriam Arbeid  
Age: 26  
Birthday: June 9  
Sexuality: Lesbian  
Crest: N/A  
Creator: ticky  
Not much is known about this peculiar knight. Miriam is polite and smooth to most on the surface. She acts graceful and relaxed, having an air of mystery about her. Behind this facade, she holds a deep hatred for the nobility and the Crests. She is secretive and rarely lets her mask slip long enough for people to probe deeper into her past or personality.

Knight: Wynne Jacobson  
Age: 22  
Birthday: November 29  
Sexuality: Bisexual  
Crest: N/A  
Creator: Annarchy  
Wynne is an oddly cheery person. He tends to say rather dismal and morbid things despite his positive outlook, easily leaving others disturbed and frightened for him. Wynne’s consistently positive personality acts as a way to uplift those around him by assuring them that everything will turn out alright.

** _You and the Mysterious Girl_ **

But who are you, I hear you ask? Good question... Who can say? That is something only you can figure out for yourself...

Protagonist: ??? (Canonical Name: Rion Nerine Sage)  
Age: ???  
Birthday: ???  
Sexuality: Pansexual  
Crest: Major Crest of Flames  
Creator: digitaldreams  
You woke up unconscious in a field with no memories of your past and the scent of fire in your nose. A twist of fate brought You to the Officers Academy at Garreg Mach Monastery, and You decided to remain there until You figured out what your next move would be. The past and the future are equally mysterious to You, as everything lies in the shadow of the unknown...

Mysterious Girl: Seraphine  
Age: ???   
Birthday: ???  
Sexuality: Pansexual  
Crest: Major Crest of Flames  
Creator: digitaldreams  
Ever since You woke up, this peculiar girl has appeared to You and You alone. Her past is a mystery, and neither of You know where she came from. Only You can see and hear Seraphine, which makes You wonder how real this odd girl could really be. Is she only a figment of your imagination? Only time will tell…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a list of the characters we have up to this point with a brief summary. Nice.
> 
> Edit: New characters added along with age, birthday, and crest facts.
> 
> -Digital


	2. Prologue: Start of an Age

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wake up in a field with no memories and seeing a mysterious girl. Soon after, You are dragged into a battle by an attack on a nearby town.

**???: **Um... Hello? Are you awake? Come on. Open your eyes for me.

_You are alone in the darkness. You cannot see anything, but You do not believe this is real life. You open your eyes and sit up, still cloaked in darkness. You look around, searching for the source of the mysterious voice. Eventually, your eyes settle upon a young girl. She has long green hair and a golden tiara sitting atop her head. She is wearing a pink and white dress with purple highlights. A golden veil falls on top of her hair and covers much of her back side._

**???: **Ah, you're up! Took you long enough. Any idea what's going on? I wish I could tell you.

_You tell the mysterious young woman you do not know what is happening._

**???: **Perhaps I'm getting too far ahead of myself. What is your name, might I ask?

_You tell the mysterious girl your name._

**???: **That's an odd name... Hm. Oh well. I guess I'm not one to judge.

_You ask the girl what her name is._

**???: **Me? Hm, good question... Do I know...? I suppose not. But that's not important right now. Do you know how to get rid of this cursed darkness?

_You tell the girl you do not know._

**???: **Odd...

_You see an orb of white light appear near the odd girl. You turn to face it fully._

**???: **Why don't you investigate that light?

_The light grows in volume._

**???: **Perhaps that isn't necessary after all... Oh, well. I trust you'll see what lies on the other side of this shine for me. Go on.

_The girl fades away as the light consumes your sight. White is all You can see... When you next open your eyes a few moments later, the white is gone. Instead, you are on the ground at dusk. The sun is setting in the distance, casting orange light across the grass. It seems You had been there for a while. You got to your feet and looked around. You could see nothing but trees as far as the horizon. The mysterious girl was gone. You were alone. You begin to wander around, unsure of where You were. It takes You a moment to realize a sword is at your hip in its sheath. Were You once a fighter? What could have happened to You? There don't appear to be any clues nearby..._

**???: **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

_You glance around furiously to find the origin of the scream. Your gaze catches a stream of fire off in the distance. Before You know what you're doing, You find yourself running closer. In a matter of minutes, You are at the village. Sure enough, flames pierce the sky. People appear to be running every which way. Some are bearing weapons and torches while others lack possessions at all. You do not know how to respond to the sudden onslaught of chaos. However, your shock and confusion is cut short when three people approach you. They all bear uniforms of black and gold. The first one to speak is a girl of about seventeen years. She has dark blonde hair in a ponytail reaching the small of her back and green eyes. A blue cape hung over one of her shoulders. This is Magnolia Václav Josefa._

**Magnolia: **Hey! What are you doing here?! We have to get all civilians out!

_The second person is a young man with blue hair. His eyes are a similar sapphire shade. He had a yellow cape on instead of a blue one. He seems a bit older than his companions. His name is Raithius Origo._

**Raithius: **Magnolia, that's a sword! We could use your help. This village is under attack by bandits. We need to fight them off.

_The final person of the three appears to be Magnolia's age. She has honey blonde hair in a long braid falling down her back. She has blue eyes and bronze glasses. Her cape is red. She seems on the pale side, as if she's sick in some way. This is Chris von Faixnoye._

**Chris: **They must be here because we are. I can't think of any other explanation.

**Raithius: **If you've got a sword, then you're with us. Fight off the bandits so the townspeople can escape!

_You don't know exactly what is going on, but it is clear to You that some people are in danger. You find yourself removing your sword as the others prepare their weapons. Magnolia has a lance while Raithius shows a sword. Chris holds no weapon but seems prepared regardless. They all head towards a group of bandits, You among them. They seem to know what they're doing, so following them seems to be the best option. When you arrive in front of the bandits, the leader speaks up._

**Nash: **There you kids are! You're going to fetch a pretty penny when this battle ends!

**Raithius: **If you think you're going to take us down, you've got another thing coming!

**Magnolia: **I don't know who you are, Stranger, but we'll be counting on you for now. Show us what you can do. We'll talk later.

**Chris: **Let's take care of this as quickly as possible... I don't like this one bit.

_The battle begins before You know it. You can't describe what your body is doing throughout the battle. It's almost as if You are moving on your own without any input from your brain. It is an odd feeling, but You do not wish to dwell on it when people's lives hang in the balance. _ _When You strike a bandit down, an odd symbol appears in the air behind You. It is strange, but You have to ignore it to keep fighting._

_You decide to approach Chris and talk with her._

**Chris: **Um... Thanks for the help. I know this isn't any of your business, but your willingness to reach out is much appreciated. Try and stay safe until this is over, okay? It wouldn't do for you to fall like this.

_You decide to speak with Magnolia next._

**Magnolia: **Thank you for coming to our aid. There isn't much time to chat, but I'd like to hear from you again after this is over. Let's get to it!

_Finally, you walk to Raithius._

**Raithius: **Thanks a million for your help on this. We wouldn't have been able to fend them off on our own. I can already tell you know more about battle than any of us. We'll follow your lead.

_If you initiate combat against the boss, Nash, he says the following._

**Nash: **I don't know who you are or where you came from, but you have no place being here! It's time for you to die!

_If Chris, Magnolia, or Raithius initiates combat against Nash, he says the following._

**Nash: **You three will fetch a lot of money after tonight is over! All I have to do is beat you down and take what's mine!

_When Nash is defeated, he says the following._

**Nash: **This can't be happening... No!

_After the battle, You and the three teenagers are standing together. The fire in the village has been extinguished. The bandits seem to have been taken care of._

**Raithius: **Phew... I'm glad that's over.

**Magnolia: **And it looks like we managed to save all the townspeople from the brigands. That's a relief.

**Chris: **The fire has been put out as well... Thank the goddess...

_You and the teenagers do not notice Nash slowly rising to his feet from nearby. It appears as if the final blow only left him disoriented rather than dead._

**Raithius: **Tell us, what's your name?

_Nash comes closer before running full speed at You._

**Magnolia: **Hey, look out!

_Nash swings his weapon with a fierce battle cry. His axe is embedded in your back. Time freezes as your vision fades to black. When You open your eyes again, You are in the darkness You started in once again. The mysterious girl stands before you_

**???: **What in the world was that?! How could you not see that coming?!

_You ask her what has happened to You._

**???: **He stabbed you in the back. That means you're not long for this world.

_You go pale in surprise._

**???: **There has to be a way to fix this... But it seems like I'm only in your head... Hm... Any ideas?

_You shake your head. You still do not know where You are, but since the odd girl was missing after you woke up the second time, You wonder if she exists only inside your head. She only seemed to appear when You were unconscious._

**???:** Hm... If only we could reverse time... That's it! I'll try and turn back the hands of time!

_The odd girl is surrounded in a glow of yellow. She closes her eyes as light once again consumes your vision. You see echoes of the past, of your being stabbed, appear in your mind's eye. When You open your eyes again, You are back in the village after defeating Nash. The three teenagers stand before you._

**Raithius: **Tell us, what's your name?

_Nash comes closer before running full speed at You._

**Magnolia: **Hey, look out!

_You pull out your sword as Nash gets nearer. You swing it at him to send him flying backwards. When he falls down this time, he doesn't get up. You sigh in relief and put your sword away before turning back to the three teens._

**Raithius: **Wow! That was amazing!

**Magnolia: **You sure showed him!

**Chris: **Is he really down this time? He's not going to get back up and attack again, right?

_You watch Raithius approach Nash. He kicks the brigand in the side. Nash doesn't move in response._

**Raithius: **I'd say we're good.

**Magnolia: **Business has been taken care of, which means it's time for us to help this town out like we should have been doing all along.

**Chris: **Um... What's your name, if you don't mind my asking?

_You tell the trio what your name is._

**Raithius: **Awesome... Where did you come from? It's not normal to find warriors in a village like this.

**Magnolia: **Don't get me wrong, we're glad you were here. All these townspeople would have been hurt if not for you. We can only do so much.

**Chris: **This attack was our fault anyways... I'm glad we were able to help make amends.

_You ask what she means._

**Chris: **Oh... Um... Well...

**Raithius: **We're students at the Officers Academy. To say the least, we fetch a high price to bandits. I guess you could say we're valuable.

_You ask him what the Officers Academy is._

**Magnolia: **Wait... You seriously don't know?

**Chris: **The Officers Academy is a school in the Garreg Mach Monastery. It's for the future leaders of Fódlan. We're all students there.

**Magnolia: **We came by this village to help out the people who live here. You see, they had a bandit invasion a few days ago, and the houses and businesses are in shambles. We were going to make sure everyone got back on their feet.

**Raithius: **Of course, all that changed after we got here. I guess the bandits figured it was wise to come back for round two. Luckily, we were able to fight them off... Well, with your help. Thanks again, by the way.

_You tell them you only wished to help._

**Raithius: **Either way, you did a great thing tonight.

**Magnolia: **Do you live in this village? As far as I was aware, no warriors were around to help the townspeople at the time of the first attack.

_You explain that You woke up in a field shortly before the most recent attack. You have no home nor any place to go._

**Magnolia: **If you ask me, you really did prove yourself in that fight. Maybe you could come back to the monastery with us.

**Chris: **Yeah. It's not uncommon for refugees or other homeless people to go there to seek asylum. I don't see why you'd be any different, especially after you helped us get out of that fight.

**Raithius: **We really were in a sticky situation. Thanks.

_You see a small squad of soldiers appear nearby. They run up to You and the trio of students. The leader is a young man with green hair cropped close to his face. A single lock hangs down on one side. He has blue eyes and was wearing white armor. A red cape hung from his shoulders. This is Derric Leon Lavellan-Indech._

**Derric: **Hey! Are you three alright?!

**Raithius: **We're fine. No need to worry.

**Magnolia: **What are you doing here?

**Derric: **We heard there was an attack on the village you were visiting, so the captain of the knights sent me over to make sure you were alright. You're all unharmed, right?

**Chris: **We're fine. The bandits are gone now.

**Derric: **That's good... Say, who's your friend?

_You tell the knight who You are._

**Raithius: **Without the help of this stranger right here, we never would have been able to win that battle.

**Magnolia: **We were just saying that maybe the four of us could all go back to the monastery together.

**Derric: **I guess it wouldn't hurt too much... You did save their lives, which is a point in my book.

**Raithius: **Awesome! In that case, let's get going!

**Derric: **The knights and I are going to do a quick check of the area. Stay here, away from the wreckage. We can't have you getting hurt. Letting you fight so soon was dangerous enough.

_You watch as Derric and the knights leave before focusing back on the students._

**Raithius: **Well, I guess you are coming back with us!

**Magnolia: **I don't know where you came from, but I hope the monastery is a good next destination.

**Chris: **I don't think I can thank you enough for what you did earlier... I'm sure the townspeople would agree with me.

**Raithius: **Hey, Chris, are you feeling alright? You look kind of pale.

**Chris: **M-Me? Oh, no, I'm fine. No worries.

**Magnolia: **I can't blame you for being a little shocked. None of us were supposed to be fighting tonight. It was meant to be a simple charity thing.

**Raithius: **I guess they thought kidnapping an heir to a nation would fetch a high ransom price. All we wanted to do was help the people out, but I guess we wound up doing more harm than good.

**Chris: **Now I just feel bad...

**Magnolia: **We couldn't have known this would happen. Besides, nobody was hurt as far as I know. The people were scared, but no one died. That's a positive.

_You see Derric reappear nearby._

**Derric: **Alright! The area is clear. It's time for us to get going. Let's move out!

_You watch as Derric walks away. The three students follow after him, leaving you standing alone._

**???: **Well, aren't they an odd bunch?

_You jump. The mysterious girl from before has somehow spoken to You outside of your mind's eye._

**???: **I didn't know I could talk to you when you were conscious. It appears I can hear your thoughts as well. I can experience what you do without actually being there... I guess you learn something new everyday... Anyways, those three students are rather strange. They're so different, but they're all here together.

_You do not think about them, but instead, focus your attention on the odd girl. What could her name be?_

**???: **My name? I suppose I do need one... I don't know of what it really is yet. I'm afraid I don't remember... A placeholder will do for now. How about... Seraphine? That sounds nice enough. Seraphine it is.

_You nod._

**Seraphine: **Back to those kids. They're unique, but they seem to agree that you're a strong individual. I suppose you managed to impress them with your fighting prowess.

_You think about Chris, the girl of red, first. She seems to look at the world with a hesitant gaze. On top of that, she appears to fear conflict._

_Next, there is Magnolia, the girl of blue. She seems a bit more sure of herself. It is as if she wants to reach out to everyone she can with her demeanor. She has a kind aura._

_Finally, there is Raithius, the boy of yellow. He has an outgoing air about him that draws others in. His optimism is something special for sure._

_You snap out of your trance and see that the group is already walking away. You walk quickly to chase after them. You can't help but wonder what the future could bring if they are part of your life. Nothing is set in stone yet, but You are curious... What is this monastery? You have never heard of it. Perhaps it is only a matter of time until the answers are revealed to You..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! The first chapter!
> 
> Most of the characters are in at this point (all but two, actually), so I decided to bite the bullet and post the first chapter! Meet the lords!
> 
> I don't know what to say here, but I really do want to thank my [discord server](https://discord.gg/RMQfkEz) for offering so much support on this! It really does mean a lot that you chose to contribute to this project. Your faith in me makes me incredibly happy to see. I hope you enjoy the future chapters, and I pray this chapter wasn't a disappointment!
> 
> Until next time, I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> -Digital


	3. Chapter One: Garreg Mach I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You follow the three teenagers to Garreg Mach Monastery and are given an offer.

_You followed the three students and their knight companions through the woods. You can see an outline in the dusk of a large and expansive building in the distance atop a mountain. You don't know what this place is, but it doesn't seem familiar. _

**Magnolia: **Here we are... Garreg Mach Monastery.

**Raithius: **I knew we'd be coming back soon, but I didn't think we'd have someone new joining us.

**Chris: **I wonder what the archbishop is going to say about this... I don't think she expected us to bring a guest along...

**Derric: **I'll take care of it. You three should go and see Professor Tysera and get patched up before heading to bed. It's getting late.

**Magnolia: **I hope the archbishop isn't too angry...

**Derric: **It'll be alright. No worries.

_You watch Magnolia, Raithius, and Chris walk away as You arrive at the doors of the monastery. _

**Derric: **I'll see about setting you up with a spare room for the night. We don't have much time to talk for now, which means it will have to wait for the morning.

_You nod. _

**Derric: **Stay here for now. We'll take care of this later.

_Derric walks away. You wait for him in silence until a voice cuts through your head._

**Seraphine: **So, we're staying at this monastery, huh?

_You jump in shock as Seraphine appears before you. She seems halfway transparent, as if she isn't completely there. _

**Seraphine: **Why are you looking at me like that? I figured out how to appear in real life. You're going to have to deal with it.

_You shake your head in surprise. You had been asleep for seemingly so long, and Seraphine had only appeared in your mind up until this point. You didn't realize it was possible for her to appear elsewhere. However, your thoughts are interrupted when You see Derric approaching once again._

**Derric: **Alright, I took care of things. You're going to be sleeping in one of the extra rooms in the student areas. The archbishop seems to trust you since you saved our students.

_Derric begins to lead You away to your room. He walks through Seraphine as he goes past, who scatters like mist as he passes through before reforming once he was on the other side. She pouts angrily._

**Seraphine: **Hey! I'm standing here, bucko!

_You notice that Derric doesn't seem to be able to see or her Seraphine. It appears she is your problem to deal with. She mutters a few angry phrases under her breath as You continue to follow Derric. She begrudgingly trails You._

**Derric:** Here we are. Your room is just through here. I hope you enjoy your time here. I'll come by in the morning to wake you up for when you go and talk to the archbishop. Until then, have a nice night.

_Derric opens the door to allow You passage inside. Once You are in the room, he shuts it behind You. Seraphine passes through the door to follow You. She turns to mist before reforming on the other side._

**Seraphine: **It seems as if I cannot interact with physical objects the way you can... How odd. I wonder why that is. Maybe only you can hear me. That knight did not seem to recognize my yelling after he walked through me. I do believe that's considered rude regardless of if you can see a person or not.

_You shake your head, unsure of what to tell her. It is clear to You that Seraphine is not quite human, but she doesn't seem entirely false in her existence either. She is in an odd state of limbo in between the two. You stare at her for a moment, and she looks back at you._

**Seraphine: **You should follow that knight's advice. You have a big day tomorrow, don't you? Maybe it's time to go to sleep. I feel like I could keep going for hours on end after that bandit fight. Seeing you in battle was truly exhilarating, I must say! I can tell you know what you're doing. I'm glad to have someone like you by my side who can guide me through whatever is happening. However, you can't do much guiding while you're in this state, tired from the fight. In the morning, you can show me more of what you are capable of. In the meantime, goodnight, my friend.

_You feel your eyes grow heavy. You walk to your bed and lay down. It seems rather comfortable in comparison to the ground you had been sleeping in before Seraphine woke you up. It feels like it was years ago despite only being two hours before... You fall asleep in a matter of minutes, and when You wake up, it's to the chiming of the monastery's bells. You sit up and stretch, looking around for Seraphine. She is standing just beside You, her face near yours, making You jump._

**Seraphine: **Rise and shine, kiddo! We have things to do, people to meet, and places to be! The archbishop, I think that knight called her, is waiting for you. Granted, I don't know where she is, but... I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner or later.

_You stand up and leave your room. Seraphine follows after You as You exit your room and go to the main lawn down near the greenhouse. There are three students standing in the area, and it takes You a moment to realize that they are the trio from the night before. Raithius is the first to notice you._

**Raithius:** Hey! I'm glad to see you survived the night. I was worried about you, I have to admit.

**Magnolia: **What are you going to do from here on out? You look pretty lost.

_You explain that You are headed for the archbishop Derric had mentioned the night before._

**Chris: **Oh, the archbishop... She's up on, I think. If you walk up the stairs and keep going straight, you'll get to the entrance hall, and there's a hallway branching off there that will lead you to the staircase. From there, it should be easy to find her. I hope.

**Raithius: **I hope she lets you stick around. Call it odd, but I think I like you already. It takes me a while to warm up to people, so you should enjoy that.

**Magnolia:** I think we all know that's a lie, Raithius... You get along with everyone nearly instantly.

**Chris: **You didn't seem to mind dragging me out of my room an hour after I had arrived for a 'house leader hangout', as you called it.

**Raithius:** It's not like you were going to come out if I didn't yank you away.

**Magnolia:** Either way, we should probably let our friend here head up to the archbishop. It was nice seeing you again. Good luck on finding her!

_You nod and walk away from the students. Seraphine walks at your side._

**Seraphine:** What peculiar kids... I guess there's nothing we can do about them though. For now, we should find the archbishop. Perhaps it was a bad idea to try and find her when we don't know anything about this place.

_You shake your head. Wasn't Seraphine the one who wanted You to find her before Derric came to pick you up?_

**Seraphine:** Hey! I was just trying to get you ready for the day on time. You should be thanking me.

_You ignore her and walk through the entrance hall until You find the branching hallway. You walk up the stairs and find yourself on the second floor. The area is narrow and leads you towards a room with a pair of grand doors as the entrance. You gently press against the doors before walking inside._

**???: **Ah... You must be the one Derric was telling me so much about last night.

_You see a woman at the head of the room. Her blonde hair was long and flowing, a strong compliment to her soft yet dark skin. She was tall with bright eyes. Her dress billowed around her and was dark blue. Various gemstones were sewn into the fabric, making a constellation pattern. She had transparent robes of a blue material over her shoulders. Her headpiece consisted of sapphires and moonstones and had matching earrings. You can't help but notice how stunning she looks._

**???:** It is nice to meet you, stranger. Tell me, what is your name?

_You answer her question._

**???:** A fine name indeed... My name is Aisa. I am the archbishop of Garreg Mach Monastery. Derric came to me last night saying you had done our students a great deed by saving their lives from bandits... I thank you greatly for that. They were in a dangerous situation, and not everyone would have come to their aid.

_You shake your head and tell her it was nothing. You were only trying to help them out of a tough spot._

**Aisa: **Still, I greatly appreciate your help in doing so. You have my most sincere thanks for this favor to both Garreg Mach and the Officers Academy. 

_You nod, seeing that she will not let You go until you accept the praise._

**Aisa:** To my understanding, you do not know where you belong or what to do next. Is this correct?

_You confirm her suspicions._

**Aisa: **Hm... Word of you has spread among the students already. It appears the three you saved have begun talking about you. I hear your fighting prowess is incredible. Derric seems to have placed his faith in you as well, and he doesn't do that often. Perhaps you should remain at the monastery.

_You stare at her in surprise._

**Aisa:** You have much to teach our students as far as I am aware. All three of the students you saved said you were a strong fighter. They are still young, just as everyone else in the academy, and have much room to develop. I'm afraid all of our teaching positions for the year have already been filled, but... Maybe you could assist them.

_You watch as Aisa continues to talk. She doesn't seem to be talking to You as much as she is to herself. You do not know what to say, so You watch her as she thinks._

**Aisa:** I have made up my mind. Until we can find a place for you to stay, you will remain at the monastery. Tell me, what do you know of your past?

_You explain to her what You know. You woke up in a field near the attacked village with no memories. You seemed to already know how to fight despite not remembering any potential training. You intentionally leave out mentioning Seraphine, who had been listening quietly at your side._

**Aisa: **I see... It would be unwise to let you leave the monastery so soon. You could be hurt in an attack, and if you have no place to call home... You will stay here. I insist. The monastery will provide for you until you are back on your feet.

_You shake your head. You cannot accept such a generous offer when You have nothing to offer up in return. Aisa laughs lightly in response._

**Aisa: **You seem rather concerned about paying us back... The Church of Seiros is about charity. We will help any lost souls who require it. If you truly wish to pay us, consider your imparted knowledge to the students of the academy payment enough.

_You ask her what the Church of Seiros is. Since You have lost your memories, You do not know what it is._

**Aisa: **The church? Ah, I see... The Church of Seiros is the primary religion of Fódlan, and we praise the goddess and her companions, including Saint Seiros. The goddess provides for all the people of our land, and we offer her our lives in exchange for all she has done for us. I assume you knew of it before your memories were mysteriously taken. I do have to wonder what force could have done such a thing... It truly is strange.

**Seraphine: **The Church of Seiros... Hm. I didn't expect there to be a religion here. Granted, I suppose it's normal, and I just didn't think about it. It's hard to focus when you don't have any memories and want to get them back.

**Aisa: **Now, let's see... I'll have to introduce you to your coworkers. There are three teachers at the Officers Academy. I'll call them in soon. In the meantime, why don't you take this chance to go and see your new students? They should be in the area of the Officers Academy in the monastery. You can feel free to explore the building as well.

**Seraphine: **That sounds great! Granted, I still don't know if this is a good idea. Making someone you just met a teacher seems kind of sketchy, even if you're just an assistant. I think she might be up to something.

_You can't help but agree internally. It seems odd that Aisa would ask You to be a teacher's assistant when You barely know her. You don't know what she could possibly be up to, but You decide to keep your eyes and ears peeled for any possibilities._

**Aisa: **Spend as much time as you like exploring. Speak with the three students you saved last night while you're out. I'm sure they can fill you in on any information you have missed. I know there is a lot you do not understand, so feel free to ask as many questions as you need of the students and knights here. You need to get used to this place, as it will be your home for a while.

_You walk out of the room, Seraphine at your side._

**Seraphine:** If we can explore, let's do it. However, I think we should go and see the students first. Does that sound good?

_You nod and start walking towards the Officers Academy. You do not know where it is yet, but You are sure You will figure it out eventually. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes! New chapter! 
> 
> I really don't have much to say about this but I'm already getting super far ahead on typing this story oof-
> 
> -Digital


	4. Chapter One: Garreg Mach II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are introduced to the students of the Academy.

_You manage to find the Officers Academy courtyard after searching the monastery for a while. You found a greenhouse, fishing dock, the entrance hall, a garden, and went past the bottom floor of dorms once again. You do not know your way around perfectly yet, but You are sure You will get used to it sooner or later. You walk towards the nearest familiar face, Chris, in the courtyard of the Academy. She is outside a classroom marked with a red banner._

**Chris: **Oh, my! I didn't expect to see you back from your meeting with the archbishop so soon. What did Lady Aisa have to say?

_You explain to her how You now have a job at the Academy as a teacher's assistant._

**Chris: **That's great! I guess I should call you my professor from here on out. It certainly beats Raithius' 'stranger' nickname, right? Well, if you're going to be teaching, I guess it's important for you to learn more about the students in my house.

_You ask about what she means by house._

**Chris: **Oh, I guess you wouldn't know. This school is comprised of three houses. There's one for each of the three nations of Fódlan. The Black Eagle house is filled with students from the Adrestian Empire to the south. It's the oldest region of the continent. That's where I'm from. In fact, I'm the imperial princess and heir to the throne... I know I don't look like the type to be an emperor, but... That doesn't matter right now. Anyways, you're probably here because you want to know more about my classmates, right? It's probably a good idea to go and talk to them first. If you have any other questions after that, feel free to come back to me.

_You nod and walk away. You head into the nearby classroom. There are seven students inside, but none of them seem to notice You at first. All of them are wearing a black and golden uniform. You decide to approach a nearby girl. She has bright red hair tied into a messy braid falling over her right shoulder. Her eyes were dark brown, and she has some muscles on her arms. Her name is Florence Eaton._

**Florence: **Oh, hello! You must be the one Chris has told us so much about. You helped to save that village last night. I'm Florence. Florence Eaton. It's nice to meet you. Oh, you're going to be staying here at the monastery? Maybe we'll run into each other again in the future.

_You give Florence your greetings and turn your attention to another student nearby. She has short, messy black hair and tired red eyes. She doesn't seem to want to be there. She doesn't notice You until You tap her shoulder. She appears to be looking towards Chris outside the classroom. This is Polly Riverbane._

**Polly: **Hm? What do you need? Oh, wait... You're the one Chris mentioned last night after she got back. Thanks for helping her out. My name? Oh, it's Polly Riverbane. Just call me Polly. I take it we'll see each other again soon. 

_Polly doesn't seem to mind it when You walk away. The next student who You see is a tall young man with bright orange hair. His hair is long, messy and tied into a ponytail. His eyes are piercing and gray. He wears a gemstone around his neck, and while you don't know what it is, You can tell it's expensive. His name is Hegias Chymes._

**Hegias: **Um... Hello. You look new. I don't think I know you... Oh, you're going to be a professor here? It's nice to meet you, I suppose. I'm Hegias Chymes. I guess I'll be seeing you around soon. 

_Hegias doesn't mind when You walk away without a word. You walk away slowly before finding another student sitting at a desk. They're a tall student wearing the regular school uniform. They are muscular with lightly tanned skin. Their hair is dark purple and in a shoulder-length braid. An eagle emblem kept the braid in place. Their eyes are silver, and You can see burn scars on their arms peeking out from the uniform sleeves. This is Tuncay Yangalev._

**Tuncay: **You must be the new person the others were talking about. You match the physical description pretty well. Name's Tuncay Yangalev. I guess you can call me the unofficial blacksmith of this place. If you don't have any business with me, this conversation is over.

_Since You can't think of anything to say to Tuncay, You move on. Your next approach a young woman. Her hair is black and fades out to a deep blue at the edges. Her eyes are deep brown. She's slender and tall, but you can see some muscle on her arms. Her name is Callisto Alteria._

**Callisto: **Who are you? ...Oh, you're a new professor? Hm, I didn't expect you to be so young... Well, I guess it doesn't matter. I'm Callisto Alteria, master storyteller and performer extraordinaire. I hope we can learn to get along.

_You nod to Callisto and move to the next student. She has dark brown hair with hints of red. Her eyes are the same way, brown with red tints. Her ears are slightly pointed. She's slightly taller than the average girl. This is Zelhira von Schlarzer._

**Zelhira: **Hm? What is it? Do you need something of me? ...You're just introducing yourself since you're a new professor? Oh, then... Hi. I'm Zelhira von Schlarzer. I'm a student here at the Academy. It's nice to meet you.

_Zelhira doesn't seem interested in talking, so You turn your attention to the last of the seven students. He has shoulder length brown hair and piercing red eyes. He's slender and tall. He's sitting at a desk, reading a book. His name is Aquillus von Einem._

**Aquillus: **What do you need? I'm busy reading... You're a professor for this school year? Interesting... I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Aquillus von Einem. It's a pleasure. Now, if you don't mind, I'll be getting back to my book.

_You decide to return to Chris now that You have spoken with all the students. You find her still standing out in the courtyard where she was before._

**Chris: **Ah! Professor! You're back. So, you talked to all of my classmates, huh? Is there anyone you want to know a bit more about?

_You ask her about Polly._

**Chris: **Polly has been my friend for as long as I can remember. She's pretty quiet most of the time, but she has good intentions. She's strong, loyal, and kind... She's everything I could have ever asked for in a companion.

_You ask her about Florence._

**Chris: **Florence was a mercenary before coming to the Academy. She's unparalleled in her skills with a lance. She's pretty optimistic and sees the best in everyone, though I will admit she can be a bit much sometimes with how loud she is.

_You ask her about Zelhira._

**Chris: **Zelhira comes off as somewhat harsh, but I can tell she's a good person under her sarcasm. She can be a bit cynical, but I can promise you that I trust her, even if she's not really one to reach out to others.

_You ask her about Hegias._

**Chris: **Hegias comes from a common family in the Empire, but he's well-known for his skills in fighting. He competed in countless fighting tournaments and won them all, making him something of a celebrity. He's impressive on countless levels.

_You ask her about Callisto._

**Chris: **Callisto is a great storyteller, I must say. She used to be a performer at a bar in the Empire before receiving an invitation to the Academy. Commoners don't come to the school often, but she's something special, and I'm glad to have her here with us.

_You ask her about Tuncay._

**Chris: **Tuncay is the closest thing to a blacksmith we have in the Black Eagles. They're an expert when it comes to crafting and fixing weapons. That's the best way to get them to open up, as they can be rather blunt and brutally honest in most other situations.

_You ask her about Aquillus._

**Chris: **Aquillus is one of the quieter people in the house, if not the quietest. He seems to hold everyone at arm's length, but I'm sure he'll open up sooner or later. We won't let him stay hidden away forever, and that's a promise.

_You ask her about herself._

**Chris: **M-Me? Well... I guess I was pretty sheltered. This is my first time leaving the palace where I was born. It's going to take some getting used to, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to find my place in the world here at the Academy now that I have some freedom.

_You thank Chris for her time and walk over to Magnolia, who is also standing in the courtyard of the Officers Academy. _

**Magnolia: **Hello! I'm glad to see you found the archbishop alright. What brings you here to the Academy?

_You tell her of your new job as a teaching assistant._

**Magnolia: **Wow, that's great! I'm glad to hear you'll be around here for a while longer. Feel free to talk to the other Blue Lions. We're all students from the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. It's a frigid nation to the northwest of here. I'm actually set to be its next queen after I graduate from this place. It's the best way to help my leadership skills. I'm the princess of the Kingdom, in other words... But that's enough about me. Go on and introduce yourself to the other Blue Lions, and if you have any other questions, come back to me.

_You nod and walk into the nearest classroom. This one has a blue flag near its entrance, telling You this is the Blue Lions room. There are seven students inside just like the Black Eagles. You approach the nearest student, who is standing near a bookshelf. She has long, dark orange hair tied into a ponytail and green eyes. Her name is Nora Marie von Tarantulus._

**Nora: **What do you want? ...You're a new professor here? Hello, then. My name is Nora. Nora Marie von Tarantulus. Do you need anything else of me? If not, I'm going to get back to my previous business.

_Sensing that Nora does not want to talk, You move on to the next student, who is a slender and tall young man with tanned skin. He has silver hair and green eyes. He is standing near the blackboard. This is Karim Faren. _

**Karim: **I haven't seen your face around here before. Who might you be? Oh, a new professor? Great! Name's Karim Faren. If you're going to be teaching around here, I guess we'll be seeing each other quite a bit. I wish you well, Professor!

_You nod to Karim before focusing on the nearest student. She has straight, dark purple hair reaching her waist. Her eyes are bright pink, and she notices You as You walk closer. Her name is Aestlyn Pluvia Aster._

**Aestlyn: **Who might you be? A new professor? Wow... That's rather impressive given how young you look. I'm Aestlyn Pluvia Aster. I'm a student here. I hope you have a nice time staying here at the monastery.

_You leave Aestlyn behind and approach another student. She has silvery hair in a high ponytail tied out of her face by a black ribbon. Her eyes are a deep navy blue. She has a refined aura about her. Her name is Cassia Regan Berniere._

**Cassia: **You seem unfamiliar... Hm. I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Cassia Regan Berniere. It is a pleasure to meet you... You will be a professor here? I see. May your time here be enjoyable.

_Cassia doesn't seem to want to continue the conversation, so You move on. The next student has bright auburn hair tied halfway up. Her eyes are a mix of brown and green, and freckles are prominent on her cheeks. This is Falon von Chevalier. _

**Falon: **Hey, there! You look lost. Are you okay? ...You're a new professor? Sweet! Name's Falon von Chevalier. I'm a student, in case you couldn't already tell. If you need any help finding anything, I'll show you around. We can't have you getting into any trouble, eh?

_Falon's sweet attitude makes You feel welcome, but You press on regardless, not wanting to hold a conversation for too long in case Aisa gets impatient. The next student has purple-tinted pink hair pulled into two drilled ponytails. Her eyes are a bright pink color. This is Illona de la Brache._

**Illona: **Eep-! Where did you come from?! O-Oh, sorry... I didn't mean to yell... M-My name...? I-Illona de la Brache... Is that all you wanted to ask me? ...Okay, good... I-I'll see you later, I suppose...

_Illona seems to want to avoid interaction. You decide to give her some peace, so You walk to the last student of the seven. It is a young man with lengthy blonde hair and hazel eyes. A gemstone is around his neck. His name is Kyle von Dragoste._

**Kyle: **Say, what do we have here? You look rather attractive today, if you'll allow me to say so... You're a new professor? Glad to hear you'll be around here a lot... I'm Kyle von Dragoste. And I'm also available...

_You step away from Kyle quickly and move back towards Magnolia, who is still out in the courtyard._

**Magnolia: **So, have you had a chance to introduce yourself to everyone? Do you have any other questions about them?

_You ask her about Aestlyn._

**Magnolia: **Aestlyn is the child of a noble family from Fhirdiad, the capital of Faerghus. She's a sweet girl who makes friends rather easily. She's one of the sweetest people I know, and she's a pretty good singer too. You should hear her hum sometime.

_You ask her about Nora._

**Magnolia: **Nora is one of the few commoners at the Academy this year. She came here on a scholarship after saving the lives of a group of merchants. Aside from that, I don't know much about her. She's definitely on the quiet side.

_You ask her about Illona._

**Magnolia: **Illona is the daughter of a rising noble family of Faerghus. She's pretty skittish, though she tries her best to hide it. She's overall rather organized... That is, until a wrench is thrown into her plans. Not even the goddess can save you from what comes next.

_You ask her about Kyle._

**Magnolia: **Kyle is... He's unique. He's been living at the monastery for quite some time, and he's gained a reputation as a flirtatious, troublesome young man. If he finds someone attractive, he will not hold back in letting them know.

_You ask her about Karim._

**Magnolia: **Karim is hard-working person who will do anything to achieve his goals. He's strong-willed and has a strong interest in magic. However, he can be a bit easily distracted and gullible, which can cause issues sometimes...

_You ask her about Cassia._

**Magnolia: **Cassia is the spitting image of a perfect noble. She's as refined and polite as it gets, but I somehow doubt that's what she's actually like beneath the surface... I guess we'll figure that out sooner or later.

_You ask her about Falon._

**Magnolia: **Falon is the most motherly person I know. She's outgoing, rambunctious, and goes out of her way to include people in everything. She'll do anything to make sure everyone is safe and happy no matter the consequences.

_You ask her about herself._

**Magnolia: **Me? Well, I guess that I'm kind... I hope I am anyways. It takes me a while to warm up to people since I'm not used to having many others around. I like to think I'm a hard worker, and hopefully I'll be able to show you such this year.

_You thank Magnolia for her words and finally approach Raithius, the final person out of the three in the courtyard of the Academy._

**Raithius: **Hey, there! What are you doing around here, stranger? ...Oh, I'll be calling you my professor now? Epic! I'm glad to hear you'll be sticking around. Well, feel free to introduce yourself to all my classmates. We're the Golden Deer. We originate from the northeastern Leicester Alliance. I'm from the archduke's family, so I'm set to be the leader of the Alliance. There are seven others. Chances are they're probably in our classroom. Feel free to say hello. After you're done, come and see me if you have any other questions.

_You nod and head into the classroom marked by a yellow banner. Just as Raithius told You, there are seven students inside. You approach the nearest one, a girl with short green hair highlighted with pink. Pink ribbons are in her hair. Her eyes are bright and full of light. This is Sofia von Ruden._

**Sofia: **Who might you be? You seem new around here... You're a professor? Neat! Name's Sofia von Ruden. I hope we'll be seeing more of each other in the future.

_You nod to Sofia and move on to the next person, yet another young girl. She is rather pale with blue eyes. She has lengthy blonde hair reaching her lower back. Her bangs sweep from her right to her left. There are leather pads on her shoulders, and an owl sits upon one. A matching glove is on her hand. Her name is Wolfgang Zarchariel._

**Wolfgang:** Olive, you're such a cutie... Oh, hi! Who are you? A new professor? It's nice to meet you. My name is Wolfgang Zarchariel. This little fella here is Olive, my pet owl. Feel free to say hello. Oh, Olive! You don't need to scream at the guests. You'll have to excuse me.

_Wolfgang leaves as Olive lets out a noisy screech. You move onto a young man standing nearby. He's tall with pale skin. His hair is curly and brown. This is Leamhnachd Homeros Mikhailikov, though he goes by Lev for the sake of ease._

**Lev:** I-I don't think I've seen you before... Who are you? ...I see... It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor. You can call me Lev. It's a lot less painful than making you suffer through my full name... I hope you have a nice day.

_You leave Lev behind and focus your attention on the next student, another tall young man. He has long green hair tied into a ponytail at the back of his neck. His eyes are a matching pure green. His name is Cedric von Eir._

**Cedric:** Hm? Do you need something? ...I don't recognize you. What's your name? ...A new professor... Interesting. Well, I hope you enjoy your time here at the monastery. My name is Cedric von Eir. It's nice to meet you.

_You nod to Cedric, your attention shifting to another student, the fifth out of the seven. She has shoulder length brown hair and blue eyes. She has on black-rimmed glasses. Her name is Novalee Taliaferro._

**Novalee: **If you don't mind my asking, do you work here at the monastery? ...You do? Good to hear. I'm Novalee Taliaferro. I wonder if we'll see each other often... Either way, I hope you have a nice time here.

_You thank Novalee and move on to the final young man in the room. He has a slight tan with dark brown hair reaching the top of his shoulders. His eyes are hazel in color. This is William Urswick._

**William: **You must be new here. Granted, we all are, but it's something to know about you, I suppose... It's nice to meet you, Professor. My name is William Urswick. I hope we can get to know each other better soon.

_You nod to William and keep going to maintain a steady peace. The final student is a young woman with light purple hair on the shorter side. Her eyes are a bright blue. She is stepping in an odd motion, as if she is dancing. Her name is Adeline von Admoderor._

**Adeline: **Ack-! You frightened me there... My name? It's Adeline von Admoderor. Who might you be? ...A new teacher? It's good to meet you.

_Since Adeline doesn't seem to be in a talking mood, You let her return to her gentle dancing. You head back out to the courtyard where Raithius is located._

**Raithius: **So, you got the chance to talk to everyone? That's good to hear. Do you have any questions about them? I'm your guy if you want to know more about my classmates. After all, I'll be the one forced to babysit them for the next year while we're here at the Officers Academy.

_You ask him about Sofia._

**Raithius: **Sofia is a funny girl. She's outgoing and positive, but she is something of a skirt chaser, if you know what I mean. She wastes no time in showering any girl she meets with whatever affections she can come up with. She's kind at heart but be careful of her flirting.

_You ask him about Wolfgang._

**Raithius:** Wolfgang is the daughter of a famous clockmaker in the Alliance. She's a pretty sweet person, but I'd suggest giving her owl, Olive, a wide berth for the time being. I love the little birdie, but Olive does have a tendency to scream sometimes.

_You ask him about Cedric._

**Raithius: **Cedric has a strong sense of justice. He's on the quiet side, but I can still tell that he wants the best for everyone around him. He's a noble and kind soul, so if you have to rely on anyone, he's probably a pretty safe bet.

_You ask him about Adeline._

**Raithius:** Adeline is a noble from the Alliance, but you'd never guess it based on her fascination with commoners. She's a talented performer, though good luck getting her to open up about it at first. You have to start by watching from afar until she's used to you.

_You ask him about Novalee._

**Raithius: **Out of everyone in my house, I'd say I'm closest with Novalee. We met on the way here, but I already trust her. She's on the quiet side, though I can tell she's got a good heart. She seems to have a grudge against the class system, though I don't know why.

_You ask him about William._

**Raithius: **William is a solemn young man, but he's still pretty talkative and friendly. He's focused but still open. It's a weird paradox, but he makes it work effortlessly. I wonder what he's hiding behind that façade he's putting up...

_You ask him about Lev._

**Raithius:** Lev is on the quiet side, I must say. He doesn't say much, and it wouldn't surprise me if some people had never even heard his voice. He seems worn down, which makes me think that he's probably gone through a lot before coming here.

_You ask him about himself._

**Raithius: **Oh, you want to know about me, eh? Well, I'd say I'm carefree and relaxed. I don't let anything get me down. I might have a heavy future ahead of me, but it wouldn't hurt to have some fun until then, right?

_After Raithius finishes talking, You thank him for his help. You should probably get back to Aisa now, so You leave behind the Officers Academy and return to the second floor of the monastery where Aisa is. When You arrive, there are four people accompanying her._

**Aisa:** I hope you had a nice time meeting the students. I found your coworkers and brought them here. I hope you'll get along well.

_The first of the four people speaks next. He has pink hair with a bandanna tied into it. He has a scarf around his neck and arms. He wears loose but regal clothing. His name is Roy Zero._

**Roy: **The archbishop told me about you... I'm Lady Aisa's aid, Roy Zero. It is a pleasure to meet you.

_The second person is a man with a navy-blue shirt. He has on leather boots with a matching belt of the same material. His trousers are dark, and a sheathed sword hangs from his hip. He has shoulder-length black hair in gentle waves and green eyes. His skin is tanned. This is Reese das Schweighen._

**Reese: **I hope the students didn't give you too many issues. Welcome to the Officers Academy. You may call me Reese.

_The third person is the only woman in the group. She is pale with short purple hair. She wears a purple blouse with many pockets, each one overflowing with different bottles. She has a black skirt and a leather satchel filled with bottles of liquids draped over her shoulder. A dagger is around her waist. Her name is Jill Tysera._

**Jill:** It's nice to meet you, I suppose. Name's Jill.

_The fourth and final person is another man. He has curly blonde hair and gray eyes. He's on the taller side. He wears a white shirt with the academy insignia emblazoned on it. He has beige trousers and a lengthy checkered jacket on. This is Herwig von Wessin._

**Herwig: **I am Herwig. You seem new to the monastery. I would be glad to show you around if you need it.

**Aisa: **Reese, Jill, and Herwig are the teachers for our three houses. Herwig teaches the Black Eagles, Reese teaches the Blue Lions, and Jill teaches the Golden Deer.

**Roy:** We don't have any official teaching positions available, which means you'll have to settle for being an assistant.

**Aisa: **I believe you would benefit from switching freely between the houses each month. This way, you can get practical experience working with a variety of people. Plus, it will be easy to get to know everyone living here at the monastery. Is that alright with you, Professor?

_You nod in response. This offer is already generous, and You feel as if You should follow Aisa's wishes in exchange for her kind offer of asylum._

**Aisa:** I believe the time has come for you to choose a house for your first month here. You can remain there for a few weeks and see what you think. If you wish to change the month after, feel free to.

**Roy:** The choice is yours to make.

_You pause to think for a moment. What choice would be best? You think of the Black Eagles, Blue Lions, and Golden Deer. They all seem like fine houses to teach... But which house would be best for You? That is a choice only You can make... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been waiting so long to post this chapter good god
> 
> Also I have posted a support story on here if you want to check it out
> 
> -Digital


	5. Chapter One: Garreg Mach III (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You make up your mind on a house to side for the first month, and You select Golden Deer.

_After thinking long and hard, You decide to assist the Golden Deer house in your first month of teaching. You tell Aisa, Roy, and the professors such._

**Aisa:** Your choice is the Golden Deer?

_You nod._

**Aisa:** I am glad to hear that you have made the choice that is best for you. I'm sure the Golden Deer will be happy to have you for the next month.

**Jill: **You'll be coming back with me then? I'm glad to hear it.

**Roy:** It's time for you to go and tell them you have made up your mind for the month.

**Aisa:** I hope the Golden Deer treat you well in the month to come.

_You thank everyone there for this opportunity before following Jill out of the room. She leads You to the Golden Deer homeroom._

**Jill: **Good luck for the next month. I hope they like you. This is going to suck if they don't.

**Seraphine: **Optimistic, aren't we?

_You follow Jill to the classroom despite your nerves. She opens the door when you arrive to show all eight of the students inside._

**Raithius:** I'm glad to see you decided to come along and help our class.

**Novalee: **You'll be the teacher's aide for the Golden Deer this year?

**Jill: **Sort of. Our friend here will be passed around between the classes each month, but when the choice came...

**Wolfgang: **You chose our house? I'm honored!

_Olive the owl chirps her excitement on Wolfgang's shoulder. You are glad to see the owl has stopped screaming._

**Sofia: **Well, aren't you darling?

**Adeline:** It's good to see you again, Professor.

**Cedric: **I'm glad you've decided to teach us first.

**Raithius: **It really does show what house you like best.

_You stare at him in surprise before he begins laughing._

**Raithius: **I'm just kidding with you. You're entitled to your own opinion, but I really am happy that you're with us.

**William: **I trust your teaching skills are strong if Lady Aisa wished to recruit you so quickly. I would have expected her to be hard to gain the trust of.

**Novalee: **Raithius said our new professor saved his life when he went to the nearby village to help with reconstruction. I would trust anyone after that.

**Wolfgang: **Olive will just have to get used to you. She's not the best with new people, but if you give her some time, I'm sure she'll relax.

**Lev:** Um... What made you choose our house?

_You explain that You wanted to learn more about the students of this house._

**Lev: **I suppose that's as solid a reason as any.

**Cedric:** We're glad to have you with us, Professor.

**Adeline:** I hope we don't stress you out too much.

**William: **Well, as long as you're here, we might as well get to know each other sooner rather than later.

**Jill: **None of you are openly hating on my new coworker, so I'm going to take this as a good sign.

**Raithius: **I have faith you'll do a great job with us Golden Deer.

**Adeline: **What's our first mission, Professor Tysera?

**Jill: **At the end of this moon, you'll all participate in a mock battle with the other houses.

_You are taken back by the mention of moons. You assume this is how the calendar works, but You cannot remember it due to your amnesia._

**Jill: **I guess it makes sense that you wouldn't know... We are currently in the Great Tree Moon, or the fourth month of the Fódlan calendar. It's the twenty-first day of the moon.

**Raithius: **We met you yesterday on the twentieth.

**Wolfgang: **Wait, I just realized something... If our professor doesn't know about the calendar... Professor, do you have a birthday?

_You shake your head._

**Jill:** Then let's make finding a birthday for you our first team bonding exercise. There's a calendar mounted on the wall over there. Feel free to flip through it and find a day you like.

_If You pick a birthday not 4/20 or 4/21._

**Jill: **Good choice. We'll celebrate it when the day comes.

_If You pick a birthday of 4/20._

**Raithius: **Oh, so you're going with the day we met? I like your thought process, Professor!

_If You pick a birthday of 4/21._

**Wolfgang: **The day you got your teaching job? Great idea.

_No matter what You say, the following occurs._

**Jill:** Well, classes start in the next week. Feel free to enjoy the rest of your day on your own.

**Seraphine:** They seem like nice kids... I hope we can get to know them better soon.

_The students in the classroom all leave to continue with their days. You do the same. Now that you have decided to follow the Golden Deer for the first month, You choose to spend the rest of your day exploring the monastery with the important choice finished._

_You approach Raithius where he is standing with Novalee in the courtyard of the Academy._

**Raithius:** Since we don't have anything to do until the mock battle at the end of the month, you might want to wander around and get to know this place.

**Novalee: **The mock battle is a tradition for the Academy. Each year, students will show what they're made of in a three-way battle between the houses. It's meant to test how prepared everyone is for the year ahead and see what skills they have ahead of time.

**Raithius:** You say that, but we all know what it's really for. Everyone is going to use it as a chance to earn bragging rights early on in the year.

**Novalee: **I really don't see why that's necessary.

**Raithius:** The houses want to assert their dominance. It's normal.

**Novalee: **If you say so...

**Raithius: **Anyways, Professor, I have something for you. I managed to snag a map of the monastery since you're new to this place. Us students are as well, but we've at least had a week to get used to the layout. Here you go.

_Raithius hands You a map. You thank him for it._

**Raithius:** It's no problem. If you have any questions, I'm sure you'll be able to ask around and figure out where something is.

**Novalee: **I wish you good luck, Professor.

_You move away from Raithius and Novalee. Falon is also in the courtyard of the Academy, and You approach her next._

**Falon: **So, you're helping out the Golden Deer for the first month? I see... I'll look forward to facing you in the mock battle.

_You ask if You will be participating in the battle._

**Falon:** Oh, of course! The professors are encouraged to help their students as much as they can during the mock battle. It's not just a test for the students, you know. I hope you're ready to get your first test as a teacher!

_Falon laughs to herself as You approach one of the remaining people in the courtyard. It happens to be Callisto. She is playing with a snake coiled around her arm._

**Callisto: **You're lucky this is just a mock battle and not a real one. If it was real, I might have to sick little Sven here on you.

_You gasp in shock._

**Callisto:** Oh, I'm just kidding. I wouldn't ever put my little friend in danger... He is a bit risky to mess with though. He won't bite you, but... Well, I'd just advise caution for a while.

_You leave Callisto to her time with the snake and approach the final student in the Academy's courtyard. This time, the person of interest is Cassia._

**Cassia: **Tell me... Do you know anything about where you come from?

_You tell her You do not remember._

**Cassia:** Hm... I wonder if you are a commoner or noble. If you are the latter, chances are you have a Crest.

_You shake your head. You still do not understand much about Crests._

**Cassia:** They're signs of the goddess' power. They're passed down through noble bloodlines. If you're a commoner, you likely don't have one. Oh, to be like that...

_You leave Cassia to her soft musing and leave the Academy. You walk south to the dining hall. There are some familiar faces in here and others You do not recognize. You go to the nearest student, Florence._

**Florence:** I wonder what you did before you fell asleep... I worked as a mercenary before coming here. It gives pretty good pay, and it's great for supporting my family. It may be risky, but if you know what you're doing, it's a piece of cake. Maybe you could try it sometime, if this whole teaching gig doesn't work out. I feel like you'd be great for it.

_You tell her that you'll think about it. Florence smiles._

**Florence: **I'm glad to hear it. For now, let's figure out where you came from. There's too much to figure out there to just pass up on it.

_The next student You see is Wolfgang, who is tending to Olive. She strokes the owl with one finger before turning to you._

**Wolfgang:** There aren't as many mice and rats around here compared to where I'm from. It'll be a rough adjustment for my baby girl here, but I hope she can get used to the food in the dining hall. There has to be something here that's safe for owls. If not, I'll have to go hunting for mice... Not my ideal way to spend the day.

_You assure her Olive will be able to find something._

**Wolfgang: **Yeah... You're right! There's nothing at all to worry about!

_Your gaze falls on an unfamiliar woman standing nearby. She has black hair in twin braids. She doesn't wear the regular Academy uniform, telling You that she isn't a student. Instead, she wears tall socks and boots. She has on high-waisted shorts and a black shirt. A jacket with golden buttons is thrown over the top. A locket hangs from her neck. This is Yuliya Kholodova._

**Yuliya: **You must be the new teaching assistant I've heard so much about. I hope you have a nice time here at the monastery. ...Me? I'm a knight here. Name's Yuliya. Maybe we'll wind up paired together for a mission in the future. Who can say?

_You ask about her job as a knight._

**Yuliya: **You don't know about the knights? The full name is the Knights of Seiros. We serve the central church here at the monastery. We're the best fighters in all of Fódlan. I'd suggest that you not get on our bad sides, especially the knight captain... She's something else, to say the least.

_You thank Yuliya for her explanation and move onto a second student in the dining hall, this one sitting down at a table. You realize it's Aestlyn when You get closer._

**Aestlyn:** I hope you're having a good time at the monastery so far. It's a lot to get used to, but I think this place really is great. It offers a second chance for so many people without any other place to go. I'm only here to learn, but I know a lot of people who are getting other things from this school, just like you. May your time here be positive.

_The final student in the dining hall is Tuncay. They are playing around with a dagger._

**Tuncay: **Constructing weapons here is a lot harder than it is at home. I hope I'll get access to the forge in the market more before the end of this month.

_You ask them where to find the market._

**Tuncay: **It's just south of the monastery. It's the loudest place in all of Garreg Mach, but there's a lot of good stuff to find down there. You should check it out sometime.

_You thank Tuncay for their instructions and focus your attention on the second unfamiliar person in the dining hall. It's a young man with shoulder-length black hair and tanned skin. His left eye is gray while the other is a dark brown, almost black. He wears armor you'd expect of a knight. This is Piers Daunce._

**Piers: **Word among the knights has spread about you already, you know. You're the new professor. I'm Piers Daunce. In case you couldn't already tell, I'm a knight. It's nice to meet you, I suppose.

_Sensing that Piers is not in a talking mood, You walk away from the dining hall, not seeing anyone else to speak with. To the south of the dining hall is the fishing hole and greenhouse. You see a young woman alone at the end of the fishing hole's pier. She has curly dark hair and brown skin. Her eyes are a light brown. She is wearing brown boots and a white skirt with a matching cropped shirt. A golden belt rests at the bottom of her shirt adorned with a green gem. A matching jewel is around her neck. Her name is Nesreen Magdy._

**Nesreen:** You're the new professor, aren't you? Lady Aisa told me about you. I'm Nesreen. I'm the monastery's messenger of sorts. I've been serving Lady Aisa for as long as I can remember, and you need to know that if you put her in danger... Well, things won't end well for you.

_You tell Nesreen You have no intentions of hurting the archbishop._

**Nesreen: **Good to hear. You had better stick to that.

_You head to the greenhouse. Sofia and Illona are standing together inside._

**Sofia:** Come on, Illona! I just want to hang out!

**Illona:** I'm busy... I can't stick around here anymore.

**Sofia:** If that's the case, then why haven't you left? And what do you have to do that's so important?

**Illona: **Um... It's none of your business!

**Sofia: **Come on... Just tell me!

**Illona:** I need to... Fish for... A dog!

**Sofia: **Fish for a dog?

**Illona: **Y-Yes! Using my all new... Broom.

**Sofia:** ...I don't know what's sadder, your lying skills or that poor broom...

_You decide to leave the greenhouse, not wanting to interrupt their conversation. Adjacent to the greenhouse is the bottom floor of student dormitories. You see a few students standing around outside it. One of them is Zelhira._

**Zelhira:** Good luck in the mock battle later this month. Everyone is going to be giving their all, so don't think you have it easy just because you have some fighting experience. It'll take a lot of work. If I were you, I'd start to get ready.

_You thank Zelhira for her tip. You notice a nearby staircase and decide to see what it leads to. You find yourself on the second floor of dorms. At the end of the hallway, You see Chris and Polly._

**Chris: **Ah, hello, Professor. I didn't expect to see you here.

**Polly: **The professor is a teaching assistant here, Chris.

**Chris: **Oh, yeah... Oops. My bad.

**Polly:** I hope you have a nice month with the Golden Deer. Maybe you'll choose the Black Eagles next time.

**Chris: **Maybe I'll get our class to start talking by then...

**Polly:** We don't exactly mesh perfectly, but we'll work it out. No worries.

_After finishing your conversation with Chris and Polly, You head back down the stairs to the primary floor of dorms. You go further down the row of dorms and see Kyle. He is standing with a woman you assume is a knight. She has royal purple eyes and dirty blonde hair. She wears a deep blue shirt with leather arm cuffs. Her trousers are also leather, though the bottom of them are hidden by black boots. Her hair is short and falls around her face. Her name is Kaeta Corin._

**Kyle: **My, why aren't you an attractive girl?

**Kaeta:** Who are you supposed to be? You're a student, right?

**Kyle:** I may be a student, but I am incredible at sensing a true beauty... What do you think led me to you?

**Kaeta:** You're just asking to get a punch to the face at this point.

**Kyle:** I wish not to be hurt by you, my lady. I only want to show you how amazing you are—

**Kaeta: **Nope. That's enough of that. No more flirting.

_You leave Kyle and Kaeta in peace, not wanting to get dragged into their argument. You go up the stairs to the other segment of the student dorms. You see Aquillus standing alone near your room._

**Aquillus:** I just got back from the library on the upper floor. It truly is impressive.

_You ask about the library. You hadn't been aware it existed._

**Aquillus:** It has many books on the history of Fódlan. If you want to know more about the world, that's the best place to start your search.

_You thank Aquillus for his advice. You walk to the edge of the dorms and enter a door to the training hall. There are two knights inside. You do not recognize either of them. One is a woman with red hair tied into a bun. A scar is on her right cheek. Her eyes are amber, and she wears armor expected of the knights. Her name is Cordelia Torryn._

**Cordelia: **Push yourself, Wynne! You can't figure out how much you can do without going far!

_The other person is a young man with mossy green hair and orange eyes. He wears blue and bronze armor with a helmet on his head. This is Wynne Jacobson._

**Wynne: **Got it, Captain!

_The two stop sparring when they see You. Cordelia turns to You first._

**Cordelia: **Looks like we have company. You must be the new teaching assistant we've heard so much about.

**Wynne: **My name is Wynne. I'm a knight!

**Cordelia: **He works under me. Name's Cordelia. I'm the captain of the knights. In other words, if you need any help with a mission, I'll be sent to help you. I hope you enjoy your time at the monastery.

_You think Wynne and Cordelia for their greetings and leave the training grounds. You walk to the nearby reception hall and see a few people inside. You approach Magnolia first._

**Magnolia:** Congratulations again on your new teaching position, Professor. I hope you'll decide to help teach the Blue Lions at some point in the future. I truly do believe in your skills.

_You thank her._

**Magnolia:** It's no problem. Good luck in the mock battle. The Blue Lions will be victorious, even if you're with another house!

_You approach Derric next after finishing your conversation with Magnolia._

**Derric:** I'm glad to see you're settling in alright. I know things have been moving pretty quickly for you since yesterday. If you need anything from me, I'll help you out. Promise.

_You thank Derric for the offer._

**Derric: **It's no problem. I want to make sure you're comfortable in your new home is all.

_You leave Derric behind and walk to Nora, the final person in the reception hall._

**Nora: **You sure did make your choice fast, huh? You walked around, met all the kids, and chose your house within the span of a few hours. Consider me impressed... Anyways, good luck with the mock battle. I hope you're ready to lose to the Blue Lions.

_You walk away from the reception hall to enter the entrance hall in between the reception area and the market. There's one person in the entrance hall. It's a young man with navy blue hair in a messy bun. His eyes are a deep green. He wears the typical white armor of the knights with a cape of red falling over his back. Some armor on his shoulder has a symbol carved into it. This is Rodain Belmontai._

**Rodain: **I haven't seen your face around here before. Who are you?

_You answer his question._

**Rodain:** A professor, eh? Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Rodain. I'm one of the Knights of Seiros. You've probably seen some of us around the monastery. It's our job to make sure this place is safe and secure, so no need to worry for your safety as long as we're around.

_You nod to Rodain and head into the marketplace. Karim is standing alone, so You approach him._

**Karim: **Golden Deer, huh? Well, if you can change your house affiliation each month, maybe you'll wind up with us one of these days... In the meantime, I hope you're ready for the mock battle. I won't be holding anything back, so you had better be ready!

_You nod to Karim and move on from the marketplace to the stable. Hegias is standing alone in the stables._

**Hegias: **It feels odd being here for school... I haven't gone to school in quite some time. I got busy with fighting for my job.

_You ask him about his job._

**Hegias:** I fought in tournaments back in the Empire. That's how I was discovered and invited here anyways... Staying still like this feels odd, but I hope I can get used to it soon.

_You assure Hegias he will get there soon. He smiles, and You head off for the knights' hall. A single woman stands inside. She has bright cerulean eyes and light blonde hair in a high ponytail. She wears a ruffled blouse with frilled sleeves and a crimson skirt. Two pieces of fabric hang from her shoulders, each one embroidered with the outline of a kneeling woman. Her name is Miriam Arbeid._

**Miriam: **A new face...? Hm. Who are you, stranger?

_You tell her who You are._

**Miriam:** A new professor... I see. My name is Miriam. I'm a knight around here.

_Miriam doesn't speak after that. You back away and leave, walking up to the cathedral. Four students are scattered about. You approach the first one, Lev._

**Lev: **I'm not really looking forward to this fight... I'm not the type of person to enjoy violence. It's frightening... I just want to enjoy a life with Travant.

_You ask about who Travant is._

**Lev: **Travant is my wyvern... He may seem intimidating, but he truly is a sweet soul. I'm sure you'd like him.

_You tell Lev You would like to meet Travant one day. He hums in response, so You move on. William is the next closest student._

**William:** I haven't fought in any official mock battles like this... Technically, I've only fought once. I'm not as professionally trained as some others here, but I'm hoping I'll catch up with them sooner or later.

_You assure William You believe in him._

**William: **Thanks for that, Professor. I won't let you down!

_You leave William behind and walk to Cedric._

**Cedric: **I really don't see the point of fighting for sport. We fight to defend ourselves and those we care about, not because we want to. I understand this is meant to help with our training, but it really is being glorified... I don't think I'll ever understand it fully, if I'm being honest.

_You walk away from William and find Adeline. She is standing near the statue and stepping in an odd rhythm._

**Adeline:** Ah-! Professor! You startled me!

_You ask her what she was doing._

**Adeline: **Um... I've been trying to practice my dance moves, but it's going slowly. I want to do it without being thought of as weird, but I can't go anywhere but here since the cathedral is the only place with music...

_You tell her she should find someone who enjoys singing to help her._

**Adeline: **That's a good idea! Now, the hard part is just finding someone...

_You leave Adeline to her own devices and find the staircase. You walk upstairs, and a hallway stretches out before you. This is the hallway where the teachers' rooms are. You head to the nearest room and find Jill inside._

**Jill: **I don't know if I fully got the chance to explain this before, but I'm not just the teacher for the Golden Deer. I'm also the school's nurse of sorts. You see, I'm an apothecary, and since we don't have any official doctors, I'm the one left to heal these kids up... You had better make sure they stay out of trouble, you hear?

_You leave Jill's room and walk across the hallway to where Herwig is._

**Herwig: **This area up on the second floor has the teachers' area, the library, and the cardinals' room. The archbishop stays in the room just past the teachers' rooms. Unfortunately, we don't have any extra rooms up here for you since your arrival was somewhat last minute... I hope you're alright with staying down on the bottom floor with the students.

_You tell him that sounds alright._

**Herwig:** I'm glad to hear it. I hope they don't cause you too much trouble.

_You leave Herwig's room and walk to the next room, which is Reese's. The room opposite Reese's appears to be locked, but You notice a nameplate indicating it belongs to Roy. You ignore the door and go to see Reese._

**Reese: **We really are raising the future of Fódlan in these halls. It's odd to think about, but it's true... You're ready for this responsibility, yes?

_You assure him You are._

**Reese: **Good. We have to ensure they're ready for whatever awaits them once they graduate... The future of our continent depends on it.

_You leave Reese's room and walk to the library, which is around the corner and down the hall. A young man stands inside. He has warm beige skin, brown eyes, and messy black hair. He wears a yellow tunic with black shorts and hunting boots. A symbol is woven into his tunic in both the front and back. This is Niko Iñigo Lavellan-Indech._

**Niko:** You're the new teacher, right? It's good to meet you. I'm Niko. Derric told me he brought you here last night.

_You ask how he knows Derric._

**Niko: **Derric is my older brother. We don't share common blood since he's adopted, but I trust him with this choice. You had better not let him down, alright?

_You nod._

**Niko: **By the way, I'm the librarian around here. If you need any help researching something, just come to me, and I'll get it done in a jiffy!

_You thank Niko and walk outside the library. In the hallway outside the library, a young man is standing and looking out the window. He's tall with tanned skin and silvery eyes. His hair is black, and three stripes of red run down his cheek from his ear. He is wearing the typical monastery uniform, but it seems relatively ragged. The sleeves are rolled up his forearms, and he has fingerless gloves on. A tattered red scarf is around his neck. This is Adrian Balsa._

**Adrian:** Who might you be? ...You're the new professor? I see! It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Adrian.

_You ask Adrian if he is a student._

**Adrian:** A student? No... I graduated last year, but I'm working at the monastery for the time being. Maybe we'll see each other around over this year. I'm looking forward to it. 

_You leave Adrian behind and turn the corner and walk into the room where Aisa and Roy are located._

**Aisa: **I trust that you have explored the monastery sufficiently for the day.

**Roy:** I imagine your students were quite excited to learn of your decision.

_You nod._

**Roy:** I'm glad to hear it.

**Aisa:** The day is almost over... Perhaps it's time for us to retire.

**Roy: **Tomorrow, the real work begins. It's time to start preparing for the mock battle.

**Aisa: **Until tomorrow, Professor. Goodnight.

_You thank them and leave to return your room. When You arrive, Seraphine sits on the bed._

**Seraphine: **I could get used to this life... It's pretty nice, I must say. Teaching is nothing when you get all of this nice stuff by default, huh? ... Anyways, the archbishop is right. It's time to get to sleep. I'm exhausted. Goodnight, Professor!

_Seraphine giggles at using your title and lays down on the floor. You take the bed and fall asleep yourself, wondering what the future holds..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update is coming to you a bit late, but it's okay. It's a double update anyways. I hope that makes up lost for it. 
> 
> -Digital


	6. Chapter One: Garreg Mach IV (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You fight in the mock battle alongside the Golden Deer.

_A little over a week after You arrived at the monastery, the day of the mock battle has arrived. You walk into your homeroom where all of your students are already standing with Jill._

**Raithius: **Well, today's the day! We're ready to show what house is the best at long last.

**Novalee: **I still don't understand the competitive aspect of it. We're all meant to be working together.

**Jill: **Some healthy competition will be good for you kids. Plus, we can wipe the floor with the Black Eagles and Blue Lions and show who the best is.

**Novalee:** Professor Tysera, I can't believe you're encouraging this...

**Jill: **What can I say? I want to win just as much as Raithius does.

**Wolfgang:** I have faith we can do it. If anybody can, it's us.

**Adeline: **I'm not a particularly competitive person, but if you all want to win the fight, I suppose I'll go along with it.

**Lev: **I trust you know what you're doing with this battle, Professor...

**Cedric: **I'm sure we don't have anything to worry about. Our professor is smart.

**William:** I'm sure you can handle it.

**Sofia:** Let's go out there and kick some tail! Maybe I'll impress some girls in the fight and pick up a few dates.

**Novalee: **Is that really something to be bragging about...?

**Sofia:** Don't judge me. I just know the beauty of going out with a fashionable woman. I don't want to wait any longer to take one out!

**Lev: **Skewed priorities or not, we should probably head out to the battlefield...

**Jill: **Derric is supposed to be overlooking the match to ensure nobody gets hurt in the scuffle.

**Raithius: **I hope he doesn't have bias towards any house... Unless it's ours, of course.

**Cedric:** I really don't know how you can joke around so much at a time like this.

**Raithius:** Jokes help to ease the spirit, lighten the stress. I'm glad to play around if it means I can help you all loosen up.

**Wolfgang: **Well... It's much appreciated, I suppose. Let's do this!

**Adeline: **The battle awaits.

**William: **Off we go!

_You and the students walk to the door. Raithius walks beside You and elbows you in the side playfully._

**Raithius:** Lead us to victory, Professor. We're all counting on you.

_You nod and follow the students and Jill out to the battlefield. The mock battle is set to take place in a large field with minimal terrain and a few trees._

**Derric: **This field will be the scene of our mock battle this year. You all will fight in an organized manner, not trying to kill each other, but instead just trying to force a retreat. Nobody here will die, if you were concerned about such a thing. This will allow the professors, who will fight alongside you, to learn where you are as students and what to focus on in the future when training you. All students will participate in this fight to accurately gauge skill. With that said, it's time to begin. Make your final preparations now.

_The battle begins around You. You stand with the Golden Deer and Jill. The other houses stand with their own professors. You lead your students in combat, telling them who to attack and when._

_If anyone aside from Raithius or You initiates combat with Chris, this dialogue will play out._

**Chris: **I'm not a fan of needless fighting, but I will give my all regardless!

_If Raithius initiates combat with Chris, this dialogue will play out._

**Raithius: **Well, aren't you looking regal today, Chris? You seem pretty prepared for a fight.

**Chris:** That's the point of the exercise, Raithius. I'm not here to play games. I'm here to get better.

**Raithius: **Always so serious... That's alright. Let's just get right down to business!

_If You initiate combat with Chris, this dialogue will play out._

**Chris: **The way you fight... You're much more experienced than you let on. Try not to hit me too hard during this, alright? I rather like my organs being inside my body.

_When Chris is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Chris:** Ack! I can't go any further... I'm sorry, everyone... I have to pull back.

_If anyone initiates combat with Polly, this dialogue will play out._

**Polly:** I'll have you know that I don't intend to lose this fight. For the sake of the Black Eagles, I will succeed.

_When Polly is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Polly: **Perhaps my ambitions were too great... I must retreat for now.

_If anyone initiates combat with Florence, this dialogue will play out._

**Florence: **I don't plan to lose here today. Time to show you what I'm made of!

_When Florence is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Florence: **Oof... Yeah, I can't do this anymore. Sorry, everyone!

_If anyone initiates combat with Zelhira, this dialogue will play out._

**Zelhira: **I truly don't see the point of getting competitive with this, but I don't have much of a choice but to go along with it... Let's just get this over with.

_When Zelhira is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Zelhira:** I suppose I didn't do enough... Time to pull out.

_If anyone initiates combat with Hegias, this dialogue will play out._

**Hegias: **If you want to fight, I suppose you can... I still don't see the point of this battle, but alright.

_When Hegias is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Hegias: **That's enough of that... I must go for now. Good luck, everyone.

_If anyone initiates combat with Callisto, this dialogue will play out._

**Callisto: **It's time for me to show what I'm made of. Let's dance!

_When Callisto is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Callisto: **Ouch! I can't keep fighting... Sorry, everybody. I have to go.

_If anyone initiates combat with Tuncay, this dialogue will play out._

**Tuncay: **My bladed babies are ready for this. Here's the true might of my spectacular axe!

_When Tuncay is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Tuncay:** I-I guess they weren't sharp enough... I have to leave... Ow...

_If anyone initiates combat with Aquillus, this dialogue will play out._

**Aquillus:** I studied strategies for this battle, you know. I wonder which one will be most effective in winning...

_When Aquillus is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Aquillus: **I guess my strategy wasn't sound enough... I must pull back.

_If anyone initiates combat with Herwig, this dialogue will play out._

**Herwig: **We are sure to win this battle. The Black Eagles will show what we're made of!

_When Herwig is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Herwig:** I still... I still have a lot to teach and learn... I must go for now.

_If Raithius initiates combat with Magnolia, this dialogue will play out._

**Raithius:** Well, you look pretty ready for this... Do you think you can win?

**Magnolia:** Of course! I believe in my classmates, and they'll help me reach victory.

**Raithius: **I figured you'd say something like that... Well, let's do this!

_If You initiate combat with Magnolia, this dialogue will play out._

**Magnolia:** You're rather skilled... You know, I'd love it if you helped out my class one day. I think you could teach us all a lot. But until then, let's fight!

_If anyone else initiates combat with Magnolia, this dialogue will play out._

**Magnolia: **For the sake of the Blue Lions, I'll give it my all!

_When Magnolia is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Magnolia: **Ow... Sorry, everyone. I can't keep this up for much longer. I have to get out of here.

_If anyone initiates combat with Aestlyn, this dialogue will play out._

**Aestlyn:** My friends are all rather excited about this, so... This is for them!

_When Aestlyn is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Aestlyn: **Oh, that one smarts! Sorry, you guys... It seems I must retreat.

_If anyone initiates combat with Nora, this dialogue will play out._

**Nora: **I hope this is over soon... Let's get this over with.

_When Nora is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Nora: **Ow... I have to leave now, I'm afraid. I'll see you all later.

_If anyone initiates combat with Illona, this dialogue will play out._

**Illona: **P-Please don't hit me too hard... My bones are very fragile, you know!

_When Illona is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Illona: **My fragile bones ache... I have to get out of here...

_If anyone initiates combat with Kyle, this dialogue will play out._

**Kyle: **Well, aren't you the attractive one? Maybe we can go out after this is over!

_When Kyle is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Kyle: **I may need to retreat, but my offer of a date still stands!

_If anyone initiates combat with Karim, this dialogue will play out._

**Karim: **I do hope you won't hate me after this. I'd rather like to keep most friendships intact for the rest of the year.

_When Karim is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Karim: **Yikes! You hit hard! It's time for me to head out.

_If anyone initiates combat with Cassia, this dialogue will play out._

**Cassia: **My family told me they really wanted me to win this battle... For their sake, I will fight.

_When Cassia is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Cassia: **I apologize... Please don't find me a failure for retreating...

_If anyone initiates combat with Falon, this dialogue will play out._

**Falon: **I won't let you lay a hand on my fellow Lions! Let's do this!

_When Falon is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Falon: **Perhaps I pushed myself too far... I must retreat.

_If anyone initiates combat with Reese, this dialogue will play out._

**Reese:** I haven't known them long, but I trust my students will take care of this fight well.

_When Reese is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Reese: **Ow... I must retreat now, but the Blue Lions must fight on!

_If Raithius initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Raithius: **As the house leader of the Golden Deer, here is my solemn promise that we will win!

_If Raithius is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Raithius:** I went too far... You all can take care of things from here.

_If Sofia initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Sofia:** I hope my performance here helps me pick up some cuties!

_If Sofia is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Sofia: **Perhaps my flirtatious efforts will have to wait... Time for me to get out of here!

_If Wolfgang initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Wolfgang: **Olive is expecting me to come back a winner, and I will!

_If Wolfgang is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Wolfgang: **That... That one hurt... Sorry, guys. I have to leave now.

_If Cedric initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Cedric:** A true noble of justice will try to win this fight, hm? Then that's what I'll do!

_If Cedric is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Cedric: **I guess my noble wishes will have to wait until next time... I must go.

_If Adeline initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Adeline: **My house is counting on me, and I won't let them down!

_If Adeline is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Adeline: **I'm sorry, everyone... I need to get out of here...

_If Novalee initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Novalee: **I find this competition silly, but if Lord Raithius wishes to win... I suppose we will.

_If Novalee is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Novalee: **Forgive me, everyone... I must pull out.

_If William initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**William: **I wonder what will happen if we win... Only one way to find out!

_If William is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**William:** I suppose my curiosity will be left unsatisfied for now...

_If Lev initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Lev: **I-I don't really mind who wins, but... I'll do my best!

_If Lev is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Lev: **Ow... I'm sorry... I have to leave now...

_If Jill initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Jill: **Healthy competition like this is necessary... And we're going to win it!

_If Jill is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Jill: **Perhaps I overestimated myself...

_If You initiate combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Seraphine: **You go get 'em, tiger!

_If You are defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Seraphine:** Oof... I felt that one. You should get out before you get hurt more.

_When the Black Eagles are all defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Derric: **The Black Eagles have fallen and are out of the running!

**Chris: **We did our best, everyone... I'm sorry to let you down.

_When the Blue Lions are all defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Derric: **The Blue Lions have all been defeated and are out of the battle!

**Magnolia:** That one hurts... I wish we could have gone further.

_If the Golden Deer are all defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Derric: **The Golden Deer can no longer fight and have been eliminated!

**Raithius: **We lost? Damn...

**Seraphine:** Are you going to stand for that? No way!

_If the Golden Deer are defeated, You are given a Game Over screen and must try the chapter again._

_After the battle ends, the three houses all stand together._

**Derric:** We have our victor! The Golden Deer have won!

**Raithius: **Yes! I knew we could do it!

**Novalee:** It was just a progress test...

**Raithius:** So? Bragging rights!

**Jill:** It's time for us to head back into the monastery.

**Magnolia:** Great job, Raithius. You did well at leading your classmates.

**Chris: **Yeah... I wish I was that good.

**Raithius: **Thank the professor here. Without those tactics, I don't know if we would have won.

**Derric:** Now that the battle has been won, all classes are to return to the monastery for the rest of the day. Class dismissed.

_You follow everyone else back to the monastery silently. Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **Great job, kiddo! Who knew you had it in you? You've definitely earned my approval! 

_When You arrive back at the monastery, You follow the Golden Deer back to their homeroom for one last conversation._

**Raithius: **Great job with the battle today, everybody. You really did work hard, and we won because of it.

**Novalee:** I believe we owe our new professor our thanks for the help. If not for those tactics, we wouldn't be in this situation of victory.

**Adeline:** You can color me impressed for sure.

**William:** I'd love to learn more about your plans in the future.

**Cedric:** Me too. It truly was amazing.

**Wolfgang: **If Olive were here and not in my room, I'm sure she'd agree.

**Lev: **I'd never believe this was your first official assignment on the job.

**Sofia:** Thanks to you helping us win, all the girls are bound to fall at my feet!

**Jill: **It's just about time for us to bid the professor farewell for now.

**Raithius:** Well, we're glad to have had you for the first month of your new job, Professor. I pray you had a good time.

**Wolfgang: **We won the mock battle. If you ask me, that's proof enough of a good time.

**Sofia:** We'll miss you for now, Professor.

**William: **Be sure to come back soon. We're happy to have you.

**Cedric: **If you wish to teach the other classes, that's alright.

**Adeline: **Thank you for your help in this battle.

**Lev:** We really do appreciate it.

**Novalee:** Until next time.

**Jill: **That battle took up much of the afternoon. It's time for us all to rest for the rest of the day. You should probably head back to your room and relax, Professor. You look exhausted.

_You nod and thank everyone again._

**Raithius: **It was no problem. We'll see you later!

_You leave the classroom, and Seraphine appears next to You._

**Seraphine: **They're good kids... I can't wait to get to know them all better this year. For now, I am so tired. It's time for us to go to sleep. If we share energy, then you have to be just as drowsy as I am, and I feel like I could pass out right here.

_You nod. You walk back to your room before sitting on your bed._

**Seraphine: **I'm pooped. You had a productive first day on the job, Professor. I can tell those kids all appreciate you. I do too... Now, I'm crashing. Goodnight!

_Seraphine falls asleep before disappearing into thin air, but You can hear her snoring in your head. You shake your head and lay down before falling asleep yourself, wondering what the month ahead will bring... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like that battle dialogue, because it gets repeated a lot over the other two houses. Oops.
> 
> -Digital


	7. Chapter One: Garreg Mach III (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You make up your mind on a house to side for the first month, and You select Blue Lions.

_After thinking long and hard, You decide to assist the Blue Lions house in your first month of teaching. You tell Aisa, Roy, and the professors such._

**Aisa:** Your choice is the Blue Lions?

_You nod._

**Aisa:** I am glad to hear that you have made the choice that is best for you. I'm sure the Blue Lions will be happy to have you for the next month.

**Reese: **Since you're coming back with me, we should head back to the classroom.

**Roy:** It's time for you to go and tell them you have made up your mind for the month.

**Aisa:** I hope the Blue Lions treat you well in the month to come.

_You thank everyone there for this opportunity before following Reese out of the room. She leads You to the Blue Lions homeroom._

**Reese: **I'm sure the kids will like you. You seem like a kind young fellow.

**Seraphine:** He seems pretty nice, I must say...

_You follow Reese to the classroom despite your nerves. He opens the door when you arrive to show all eight of the students inside._

**Magnolia:** You chose to follow the Blue Lions? Wow, I'm honored!

**Falon:** So, you'll be helping out our class for this school year?

**Reese: **In a way. The professor will be given the choice to switch between houses each month, and when given the choice... Well, you can see what was chosen pretty clearly.

**Aestlyn:** You chose our house first? Wow... Thank you!

**Kyle:** Well, aren't you adorable? We should hang out sometime.

**Illona: **Um... Hello again...

**Nora:** I'm sure we'll have a great time together this month.

**Karim:** So, you like our house best?

_You stare at him in surprise before he begins laughing._

**Karim:** I'm only joking around! I really am happy that you're with us.

**Cassia:** I have faith you know what you are doing... Lady Aisa would not have reached out to you otherwise. I sense she is hard to gain trust from.

**Falon:** Magnolia said the professor helped her out of a bind when she was helping that village get back on their feet. I can't blame Lady Aisa for trusting the professor for that act alone.

**Illona:** Um... What made you choose our house? If you don't mind my asking, that is...

_You explain that You wanted to learn more about the students of this house._

**Illona:** I guess that makes sense...

**Karim:** We're glad to have you with us, Prof. I bet you'll do a great job.

**Aestlyn: **We'll all do our best!

**Reese:** I expected there to be some conflict, if I'm being perfectly honest, but perhaps I had too little faith.

**Magnolia: **We all know the professor will do a great job with us!

**Cassia:** What will we be doing first, Professor Schweighen?

**Reese:** At the end of this moon, you'll all participate in a mock battle with the other houses. It's a tradition here at Garreg Mach.

_You are taken back by the mention of moons. You assume this is how the calendar works, but You cannot remember it due to your amnesia._

**Reese: **I forgot you probably wouldn't know... We are currently in the Great Tree Moon, or the fourth month of the Fódlan calendar. It's the twenty-first day of the moon.

**Magnolia:** The battle where we met was yesterday on the twentieth.

**Karim:** Wait, something just hit me... If our professor doesn't know about the calendar... Professor, do you have a birthday?

_You shake your head._

**Reese: **Go on and pick a birthday then. There's a calendar on the wall. Pick a day you like.

_If You pick a birthday not 4/20 or 4/21._

**Reese:** Good choice. We'll celebrate it when the day comes.

_If You pick a birthday of 4/20._

**Magnolia:** You chose the day we met? Good idea!

_If You pick a birthday of 4/21._

**Falon: **The day you got your teaching job, eh? I like that. Happy birthday!

_No matter what You say, the following occurs._

**Reese:** Classes start this week. The rest of the day is yours.

**Seraphine:** They seem like nice kids... I hope we can get to know them better soon.

_The students in the classroom all leave to continue with their days. You do the same. Now that you have decided to follow the Blue Lions for the first month, You choose to spend the rest of your day exploring the monastery with the important choice finished._

_You approach Magnolia where she is standing with Falon in the courtyard of the Academy._

**Magnolia: **There really isn't much for us to do until the mock battle at the end of the month. Maybe you should try and get to know the monastery.

**Falon: **The mock battle is a tradition for the Academy. Each year, students will show what they're made of in a three-way battle between the houses. It's meant to test how prepared everyone is for the year ahead and see what skills they have ahead of time, but I plan on using it as a chance to fight my best!

**Magnolia: **I never would have expected you to be so competitive, Falon.

**Falon: **It's going to be great! How can I not be?

**Magnolia:** I'll just have to trust you on that.

**Falon: **As you should.

**Magnolia: **Anyways, Professor, I have something for you. I got you map of the monastery since you're new. Us students are as well, but we've at least had a week to get used to the layout. Here you go.

_Magnolia hands You a map. You thank her for it._

**Magnolia:** It's my pleasure. If you have any questions, I'm sure you'll be able to ask around and learn where something is.

**Falon: **Good luck, Professor!

_You move away from Magnolia and Falon. Novalee is also in the courtyard of the Academy, and You approach her next._

**Novalee: **So, you're helping the Blue Lions for the first month? I see... I'll look forward to facing you in the mock battle. Lord Raithius is determined to win... I hope you're ready.

_You ask if You will be participating in the battle._

**Novalee: **Yes. The professors are encouraged to help their students as much as they can during the mock battle. It's not just a test for the students. It's also meant to help the teachers learn how to help their students. It will be your first test as a teacher.

_You leave Novalee behind as You approach one of the remaining people in the courtyard. It happens to be Callisto. She is playing with a snake coiled around her arm._

**Callisto:** You're lucky this is just a mock battle and not a real one. If it was real, I might have to sick little Sven here on you.

_You gasp in shock._

**Callisto: **Oh, I'm just kidding. I wouldn't ever put my little friend in danger... He is a bit risky to mess with though. He won't bite you, but... Well, I'd just advise caution for a while.

_You leave Callisto to her time with the snake and approach the final student in the Academy's courtyard. This time, the person of interest is Cassia._

**Cassia: **Tell me... Do you know anything about where you come from?

_You tell her You do not remember._

**Cassia: **Hm... I wonder if you are a commoner or noble. If you are the latter, chances are you have a Crest.

_You shake your head. You still do not understand much about Crests._

**Cassia: **They're signs of the goddess' power. They're passed down through noble bloodlines. If you're a commoner, you likely don't have one. Oh, to be like that...

_You leave Cassia to her soft musing and leave the Academy. You walk south to the dining hall. There are some familiar faces in here and others You do not recognize. You go to the nearest student, Florence._

**Florence:** I wonder what you did before you fell asleep... I worked as a mercenary before coming here. It gives pretty good pay, and it's great for supporting my family. It may be risky, but if you know what you're doing, it's a piece of cake. Maybe you could try it sometime, if this whole teaching gig doesn't work out. I feel like you'd be great for it.

_You tell her that you'll think about it. Florence smiles._

**Florence: **I'm glad to hear it. For now, let's figure out where you came from. There's too much to figure out there to just pass up on it.

_The next student You see is Wolfgang, who is tending to Olive. She strokes the owl with one finger before turning to you._

**Wolfgang: **There aren't as many mice and rats around here compared to where I'm from. It'll be a rough adjustment for my baby girl here, but I hope she can get used to the food in the dining hall. There has to be something here that's safe for owls. If not, I'll have to go hunting for mice... Not my ideal way to spend the day.

_You assure her Olive will be able to find something._

**Wolfgang: **Yeah... You're right! There's nothing at all to worry about!

_Your gaze falls on an unfamiliar woman standing nearby. She has black hair in twin braids. She doesn't wear the regular Academy uniform, telling You that she isn't a student. Instead, she wears tall socks and boots. She has on high-waisted shorts and a black shirt. A jacket with golden buttons is thrown over the top. A locket hangs from her neck. This is Yuliya Kholodova._

**Yuliya: **You must be the new teaching assistant I've heard so much about. I hope you have a nice time here at the monastery. ...Me? I'm a knight here. Name's Yuliya. Maybe we'll wind up paired together for a mission in the future. Who can say?

_You ask about her job as a knight._

**Yuliya: **You don't know about the knights? The full name is the Knights of Seiros. We serve the central church here at the monastery. We're the best fighters in all of Fódlan. I'd suggest that you not get on our bad sides, especially the knight captain... She's something else, to say the least.

_You thank Yuliya for her explanation and move onto a second student in the dining hall, this one sitting down at a table. You realize it's Aestlyn when You get closer._

**Aestlyn:** I hope you're having a good time at the monastery so far. It's a lot to get used to, but I think this place really is great. It offers a second chance for so many people without any other place to go. I'm only here to learn, but I know a lot of people who are getting other things from this school, just like you. May your time here be positive.

_The final student in the dining hall is Tuncay. They are playing around with a dagger._

**Tuncay:** Constructing weapons here is a lot harder than it is at home. I hope I'll get access to the forge in the market more before the end of this month.

_You ask them where to find the market._

**Tuncay:** It's just south of the monastery. It's the loudest place in all of Garreg Mach, but there's a lot of good stuff to find down there. You should check it out sometime.

_You thank Tuncay for their instructions and focus your attention on the second unfamiliar person in the dining hall. It's a young man with shoulder-length black hair and tanned skin. His left eye is gray while the other is a dark brown, almost black. He wears armor you'd expect of a knight. This is Piers Daunce._

**Piers: **Word among the knights has spread about you already, you know. You're the new professor. I'm Piers Daunce. In case you couldn't already tell, I'm a knight. It's nice to meet you, I suppose.

_Sensing that Piers is not in a talking mood, You walk away from the dining hall, not seeing anyone else to speak with. To the south of the dining hall is the fishing hole and greenhouse. You see a young woman alone at the end of the fishing hole's pier. She has curly dark hair and brown skin. Her eyes are a light brown. She is wearing brown boots and a white skirt with a matching cropped shirt. A golden belt rests at the bottom of her shirt adorned with a green gem. A matching jewel is around her neck. Her name is Nesreen Magdy._

**Nesreen: **You're the new professor, aren't you? Lady Aisa told me about you. I'm Nesreen. I'm the monastery's messenger of sorts. I've been serving Lady Aisa for as long as I can remember, and you need to know that if you put her in danger... Well, things won't end well for you.

_You tell Nesreen You have no intentions of hurting the archbishop._

**Nesreen:** Good to hear. You had better stick to that.

_You head to the greenhouse. Sofia and Illona are standing together inside._

**Sofia: **Come on, Illona! I just want to hang out!

**Illona: **I'm busy... I can't stick around here anymore.

**Sofia: **If that's the case, then why haven't you left? And what do you have to do that's so important?

**Illona: **Um... It's none of your business!

**Sofia:** Come on... Just tell me!

**Illona: **I need to... Fish for... A dog!

**Sofia: **Fish for a dog?

**Illona: **Y-Yes! Using my all new... Broom.

**Sofia: **...I don't know what's sadder, your lying skills or that poor broom...

_You decide to leave the greenhouse, not wanting to interrupt their conversation. Adjacent to the greenhouse is the bottom floor of student dormitories. You see a few students standing around outside it. One of them is Zelhira._

**Zelhira: **Good luck in the mock battle later this month. Everyone is going to be giving their all, so don't think you have it easy just because you have some fighting experience. It'll take a lot of work. If I were you, I'd start to get ready.

_You thank Zelhira for her tip. You notice a nearby staircase and decide to see what it leads to. You find yourself on the second floor of dorms. At the end of the hallway, You see Chris and Polly._

**Chris: **Ah, hello, Professor. I didn't expect to see you here.

**Polly: **The professor is a teaching assistant here, Chris.

**Chris: **Oh, yeah... Oops. My bad.

**Polly: **I hope you have a nice month with the Blue Lions. Maybe you'll choose the Black Eagles next time.

**Chris: **Maybe I'll get our class to start talking by then...

**Polly: **We don't exactly mesh perfectly, but we'll work it out. No worries.

_After finishing your conversation with Chris and Polly, You head back down the stairs to the primary floor of dorms. You go further down the row of dorms and see Kyle. He is standing with a woman you assume is a knight. She has royal purple eyes and dirty blonde hair. She wears a deep blue shirt with leather arm cuffs. Her trousers are also leather, though the bottom of them are hidden by black boots. Her hair is short and falls around her face. Her name is Kaeta Corin._

**Kyle:** My, why aren't you an attractive girl?

**Kaeta:** Who are you supposed to be? You're a student, right?

**Kyle: **I may be a student, but I am incredible at sensing a true beauty... What do you think led me to you?

**Kaeta: **You're just asking to get a punch to the face at this point.

**Kyle:** I wish not to be hurt by you, my lady. I only want to show you how amazing you are—

**Kaeta: **Nope. That's enough of that. No more flirting.

_You leave Kyle and Kaeta in peace, not wanting to get dragged into their argument. You go up the stairs to the other segment of the student dorms. You see Aquillus standing alone near your room._

**Aquillus: **I just got back from the library on the upper floor. It truly is impressive.

_You ask about the library. You hadn't been aware it existed._

**Aquillus:** It has many books on the history of Fódlan. If you want to know more about the world, that's the best place to start your search.

_You thank Aquillus for his advice. You walk to the edge of the dorms and enter a door to the training hall. There are two knights inside. You do not recognize either of them. One is a woman with red hair tied into a bun. A scar is on her right cheek. Her eyes are amber, and she wears armor expected of the knights. Her name is Cordelia Torryn._

**Cordelia: **Push yourself, Wynne! You can't figure out how much you can do without going far!

_The other person is a young man with mossy green hair and orange eyes. He wears blue and bronze armor with a helmet on his head. This is Wynne Jacobson._

**Wynne: **Got it, Captain!

_The two stop sparring when they see You. Cordelia turns to You first._

**Cordelia:** Looks like we have company. You must be the new teaching assistant we've heard so much about.

**Wynne:** My name is Wynne. I'm a knight!

**Cordelia: **He works under me. Name's Cordelia. I'm the captain of the knights. In other words, if you need any help with a mission, I'll be sent to help you. I hope you enjoy your time at the monastery.

_You think Wynne and Cordelia for their greetings and leave the training grounds. You walk to the nearby reception hall and see a few people inside. You approach Raithius first._

**Raithius: **Congratulations again on your new teaching position, Professor! I really can't call you stranger anymore. I hope you wind up with the Golden Deer and me. I bet you'd have a lot to teach us.

_You thank him._

**Raithius: **It's no problem. Good luck in the mock battle. The Golden Deer will win, but I'll wish you luck anyways!

_You approach Derric next after finishing your conversation with Raithius._

**Derric: **I'm glad to see you're settling in alright. I know things have been moving pretty quickly for you since yesterday. If you need anything from me, I'll help you out. Promise.

_You thank Derric for the offer._

**Derric: **It's no problem. I want to make sure you're comfortable in your new home is all.

_You leave Derric behind and walk to Nora, the final person in the reception hall._

**Nora: **You sure did make your choice fast, huh? You walked around, met all the kids, and chose your house within the span of a few hours. Consider me impressed... It's an honor to be at your side during the mock battle. I wish you luck.

_You walk away from the reception hall to enter the entrance hall in between the reception area and the market. There's one person in the entrance hall. It's a young man with navy blue hair in a messy bun. His eyes are a deep green. He wears the typical white armor of the knights with a cape of red falling over his back. Some armor on his shoulder has a symbol carved into it. This is Rodain Belmontai._

**Rodain:** I haven't seen your face around here before. Who are you?

_You answer his question._

**Rodain:** A professor, eh? Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Rodain. I'm one of the Knights of Seiros. You've probably seen some of us around the monastery. It's our job to make sure this place is safe and secure, so no need to worry for your safety as long as we're around.

_You nod to Rodain and head into the marketplace. Karim is standing alone, so You approach him._

**Karim:** I hope you're ready for the mock battle. I won't be holding anything back, so you can expect me to fight hard as hell! The other houses won't know what hit them!

_You nod to Karim and move on from the marketplace to the stable. Hegias is standing alone in the stables._

**Hegias: **It feels odd being here for school... I haven't gone to school in quite some time. I got busy with fighting for my job.

_You ask him about his job._

**Hegias: **I fought in tournaments back in the Empire. That's how I was discovered and invited here anyways... Staying still like this feels odd, but I hope I can get used to it soon.

_You assure Hegias he will get there soon. He smiles, and You head off for the knights' hall. A single woman stands inside. She has bright cerulean eyes and light blonde hair in a high ponytail. She wears a ruffled blouse with frilled sleeves and a crimson skirt. Two pieces of fabric hang from her shoulders, each one embroidered with the outline of a kneeling woman. Her name is Miriam Arbeid._

**Miriam: **A new face...? Hm. Who are you, stranger?

_You tell her who You are._

**Miriam: **A new professor... I see. My name is Miriam. I'm a knight around here.

_Miriam doesn't speak after that. You back away and leave, walking up to the cathedral. Four students are scattered about. You approach the first one, Lev._

**Lev: **I'm not really looking forward to this fight... I'm not the type of person to enjoy violence. It's frightening... I just want to enjoy a life with Travant.

_You ask about who Travant is._

**Lev: **Travant is my wyvern... He may seem intimidating, but he truly is a sweet soul. I'm sure you'd like him.

_You tell Lev You would like to meet Travant one day. He hums in response, so You move on. William is the next closest student._

**William:** I haven't fought in any official mock battles like this... Technically, I've only fought once. I'm not as professionally trained as some others here, but I'm hoping I'll catch up with them sooner or later.

_You assure William You believe in him._

**William: **Thanks for that, Professor. I won't let you down!

_You leave William behind and walk to Cedric._

**Cedric: **I really don't see the point of fighting for sport. We fight to defend ourselves and those we care about, not because we want to. I understand this is meant to help with our training, but it really is being glorified... I don't think I'll ever understand it fully, if I'm being honest.

_You walk away from William and find Adeline. She is standing near the statue and stepping in an odd rhythm._

**Adeline:** Ah-! Professor! You startled me!

_You ask her what she was doing._

**Adeline:** Um... I've been trying to practice my dance moves, but it's going slowly. I want to do it without being thought of as weird, but I can't go anywhere but here since the cathedral is the only place with music...

_You tell her she should find someone who enjoys singing to help her._

**Adeline: **That's a good idea! Now, the hard part is just finding someone...

_You leave Adeline to her own devices and find the staircase. You walk upstairs, and a hallway stretches out before you. This is the hallway where the teachers' rooms are. You head to the nearest room and find Jill inside._

**Jill:** I don't know if I fully got the chance to explain this before, but I'm not just the teacher for the Golden Deer. I'm also the school's nurse of sorts. You see, I'm an apothecary, and since we don't have any official doctors, I'm the one left to heal these kids up... You had better make sure they stay out of trouble, you hear?

_You leave Jill's room and walk across the hallway to where Herwig is._

**Herwig: **This area up on the second floor has the teachers' area, the library, and the cardinals' room. The archbishop stays in the room just past the teachers' rooms. Unfortunately, we don't have any extra rooms up here for you since your arrival was somewhat last minute... I hope you're alright with staying down on the bottom floor with the students.

_You tell him that sounds alright._

**Herwig: **I'm glad to hear it. I hope they don't cause you too much trouble.

_You leave Herwig's room and walk to the next room, which is Reese's. The room opposite Reese's appears to be locked, but You notice a nameplate indicating it belongs to Roy. You ignore the door and go to see Reese._

**Reese: **We really are raising the future of Fódlan in these halls. It's odd to think about, but it's true... You're ready for this responsibility, yes?

_You assure him You are._

**Reese: **Good. We have to ensure they're ready for whatever awaits them once they graduate... The future of our continent depends on it.

_You leave Reese's room and walk to the library, which is around the corner and down the hall. A young man stands inside. He has warm beige skin, brown eyes, and messy black hair. He wears a yellow tunic with black shorts and hunting boots. A symbol is woven into his tunic in both the front and back. This is Niko Iñigo Lavellan-Indech._

**Niko: **You're the new teacher, right? It's good to meet you. I'm Niko. Derric told me he brought you here last night.

_You ask how he knows Derric._

**Niko: **Derric is my older brother. We don't share common blood since he's adopted, but I trust him with this choice. You had better not let him down, alright?

_You nod._

**Niko:** By the way, I'm the librarian around here. If you need any help researching something, just come to me, and I'll get it done in a jiffy!

_You thank Niko and walk outside the library. In the hallway outside the library, a young man is standing and looking out the window. He's tall with tanned skin and silvery eyes. His hair is black, and three stripes of red run down his cheek from his ear. He is wearing the typical monastery uniform, but it seems relatively ragged. The sleeves are rolled up his forearms, and he has fingerless gloves on. A tattered red scarf is around his neck. This is Adrian Balsa._

**Adrian: **Who might you be? ...You're the new professor? I see! It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Adrian.

_You ask Adrian if he is a student._

**Adrian: **A student? No... I graduated last year, but I'm working at the monastery for the time being. Maybe we'll see each other around over this year. I'm looking forward to it.

_You leave Adrian being and turn the corner and walk into the room where Aisa and Roy are located._

**Aisa: **I trust that you have explored the monastery sufficiently for the day.

**Roy: **I imagine your students were quite excited to learn of your decision.

_You nod._

**Roy:** I'm glad to hear it.

**Aisa: **The day is almost over... Perhaps it's time for us to retire.

**Roy:** Tomorrow, the real work begins. It's time to start preparing for the mock battle.

**Aisa: **Until tomorrow, Professor. Goodnight.

_You thank them and leave to return your room. When You arrive, Seraphine sits on the bed._

**Seraphine: **I could get used to this life... It's pretty nice, I must say. Teaching is nothing when you get all of this nice stuff by default, huh? ... Anyways, the archbishop is right. It's time to get to sleep. I'm exhausted. Goodnight, Professor!

_Seraphine giggles at using your title and lays down on the floor. You take the bed and fall asleep yourself, wondering what the future holds..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Area 51 raid day good joke original joke
> 
> -Digital


	8. Chapter One: Garreg Mach IV (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You fight in the mock battle alongside the Blue Lions.

_A little over a week after You arrived at the monastery, the day of the mock battle has arrived. You walk into your homeroom where all of your students are already standing with Reese._

**Magnolia: **The mock battle has arrived... The real hard part starts here.

**Falon: **We are totally going to win this!

**Magnolia: **I still don't understand the competitive aspect of it. We're all meant to be working together.

**Reese: **Some healthy competition is good... At the very least, that's what Jill tells me.

**Aestlyn: **We're going to pull this off! I know it!

**Cassia: **I still don't see the point of having a mock battle when we all need to train, but... I suppose there is nothing we can do.

**Illona: **P-Please say you know what you're doing, Professor...

**Karim: **I'm sure we don't have anything to worry about. We're an awesome group, and our teachers were hired for a reason.

**Nora: **You can handle it, Professor.

**Kyle: **Let's go out there and do our best. If we perform well enough, maybe I'll wind up with a few dates... Sounds like a dream.

**Falon: **I don't think you should be boasting about such a thing, Kyle.

**Kyle: **Don't judge me, Falon. I just know how to appreciate beauty when I see it.

**Illona: **Either way, we should probably head out to the battlefield...

**Resse: **Derric is set to be overlooking the match to ensure no one is badly injured.

**Magnolia: **Since he's a knight, he's bound to judge everyone fairly in the battle. That's what knights do.

**Aestlyn: **There's no time to waste. Let's do this!

**Nora: **If you insist...

**Karim: **We've got this!

_You and the students walk to the door. Magnolia walks beside You._

**Magnolia: **No need to worry. We all trust you and know you're a strong leader.

_You nod and follow the students and Reese out to the battlefield. The mock battle is set to take place in a large field with minimal terrain and a few trees._

**Derric: **This field will be the scene of our mock battle this year. You all will fight in an organized manner, not trying to kill each other, but instead just trying to force a retreat. Nobody here will die, if you were concerned about such a thing. This will allow the professors, who will fight alongside you, to learn where you are as students and what to focus on in the future when training you. All students will participate in this fight to accurately gauge skill. With that said, it's time to begin. Make your final preparations now.

_The battle begins around You. You stand with the Blue Lions and Reese. The other houses stand with their own professors. You lead your students in combat, telling them who to attack and when._

_If anyone aside from Raithius or You initiates combat with Chris, this dialogue will play out._

**Chris: **I'm not a fan of needless fighting, but I will give my all regardless!

_If Magnolia initiates combat with Chris, this dialogue will play out._

**Magnolia: **You're doing a pretty good job so far, but... My house is counting on me.

**Chris: **I understand. Just... Try not to cut off any limbs in the process, okay?

**Magnolia: **Of course not. Friends don't maim friends.

**Chris: **Huh. Who knew?

_If You initiate combat with Chris, this dialogue will play out._

**Chris: **The way you fight... You're much more experienced than you let on. Try not to hit me too hard during this, alright? I rather like my organs being inside my body.

_When Chris is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Chris: **Ack! I can't go any further... I'm sorry, everyone... I have to pull back.

_If anyone initiates combat with Polly, this dialogue will play out._

**Polly: **I'll have you know that I don't intend to lose this fight. For the sake of the Black Eagles, I will succeed.

_When Polly is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Polly: **Perhaps my ambitions were too great... I must retreat for now.

_If anyone initiates combat with Florence, this dialogue will play out._

**Florence: **I don't plan to lose here today. Time to show you what I'm made of!

_When Florence is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Florence: **Oof... Yeah, I can't do this anymore. Sorry, everyone!

_If anyone initiates combat with Zelhira, this dialogue will play out._

**Zelhira: **I truly don't see the point of getting competitive with this, but I don't have much of a choice but to go along with it... Let's just get this over with.

_When Zelhira is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Zelhira: **I suppose I didn't do enough... Time to pull out.

_If anyone initiates combat with Hegias, this dialogue will play out._

**Hegias: **If you want to fight, I suppose you can... I still don't see the point of this battle, but alright.

_When Hegias is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Hegias: **That's enough of that... I must go for now. Good luck, everyone.

_If anyone initiates combat with Callisto, this dialogue will play out._

**Callisto: **It's time for me to show what I'm made of. Let's dance!

_When Callisto is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Callisto: **Ouch! I can't keep fighting... Sorry, everybody. I have to go.

_If anyone initiates combat with Tuncay, this dialogue will play out._

**Tuncay: **My bladed babies are ready for this. Here's the true might of my spectacular axe!

_When Tuncay is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Tuncay: **I-I guess they weren't sharp enough... I have to leave... Ow...

_If anyone initiates combat with Aquillus, this dialogue will play out._

**Aquillus: **I studied strategies for this battle, you know. I wonder which one will be most effective in winning...

_When Aquillus is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Aquillus: **I guess my strategy wasn't sound enough... I must pull back.

_If anyone initiates combat with Herwig, this dialogue will play out._

**Herwig: **We are sure to win this battle. The Black Eagles will show what we're made of!

_When Herwig is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Herwig: **I still... I still have a lot to teach and learn... I must go for now.

_If Magnolia initiates combat with Raithius, this dialogue will play out._

**Raithius: **You're looking prepared on this fine day, Magnolia.

**Magnolia: **That's how we're supposed to look.

**Raithius: **I was only kidding... Not that it matters. Let's do this!

_If You initiate combat with Raithius, this dialogue will play out._

**Raithius: **You may have experience over most of us, but I won't let that stop me. We will win, Professor!

_If anyone else initiates combat with Raithius, this dialogue will play out._

**Raithius: **As the house leader of the Golden Deer, here is my solemn promise that we will win!

_When Raithius is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Raithius: **I went too far... You all can take care of things from here.

_If anyone initiates combat with Sofia, this dialogue will play out._

**Sofia: **I hope my performance here helps me pick up some cuties!

_When Sofia is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Sofia: **Perhaps my flirtatious efforts will have to wait... Time for me to get out of here!

_If anyone initiates combat with Wolfgang, this dialogue will play out._

**Wolfgang: **Olive is expecting me to come back a winner, and I will!

_When Wolfgang is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Wolfgang: **That... That one hurt... Sorry, guys. I have to leave now.

_If anyone initiates combat with Cedric, this dialogue will play out._

**Cedric: **A true noble of justice will try to win this fight, hm? Then that's what I'll do!

_When Cedric is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Cedric: **I guess my noble wishes will have to wait until next time... I must go.

_If anyone initiates combat with Adeline, this dialogue will play out._

**Adeline: **My house is counting on me, and I won't let them down!

_When Adeline is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Adeline: **I'm sorry, everyone... I need to get out of here...

_If anyone initiates combat with Novalee, this dialogue will play out._

**Novalee: **I find this competition silly, but if Lord Raithius wishes to win... I suppose we will.

_When Novalee is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Novalee: **Forgive me, everyone... I must pull out.

_If anyone initiates combat with William, this dialogue will play out._

**William: **I wonder what will happen if we win... Only one way to find out!

_When William is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**William: **I suppose my curiosity will be left unsatisfied for now...

_If anyone initiates combat with Lev, this dialogue will play out._

**Lev: **I-I don't really mind who wins, but... I'll do my best!

_When Lev is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Lev: **Ow... I'm sorry... I have to leave now...

_If anyone initiates combat with Jill, this dialogue will play out._

**Jill: **Healthy competition like this is necessary... And we're going to win it!

_When Jill is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Jill: **Perhaps I overestimated myself...

_If Magnolia initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Magnolia: **For the sake of the Blue Lions, I'll give it my all!

_If Magnolia is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Magnolia: **Ow... Sorry, everyone. I can't keep this up for much longer. I have to get out of here.

_If Aestlyn initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Aestlyn: **My friends are all rather excited about this, so... This is for them!

_If Aestlyn is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Aestlyn: **Oh, that one smarts! Sorry, you guys... It seems I must retreat.

_If Nora initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Nora: **I hope this is over soon... Let's get this over with.

_If Nora is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Nora: **Ow... I have to leave now, I'm afraid. I'll see you all later.

_If Illona initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Illona: **P-Please don't hit me too hard... My bones are very fragile, you know!

_If Illona is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Illona: **My fragile bones ache... I have to get out of here...

_If Kyle initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Kyle: **Well, aren't you the attractive one? Maybe we can go out after this is over!

_If Kyle is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Kyle: **I may need to retreat, but my offer of a date still stands!

_If Karim initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Karim: **I do hope you won't hate me after this. I'd rather like to keep most friendships intact for the rest of the year.

_If Karim is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Karim: **Yikes! You hit hard! It's time for me to head out.

_If Cassia initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Cassia: **My family told me they really wanted me to win this battle... For their sake, I will fight.

_If Cassia is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Cassia: **I apologize... Please don't find me a failure for retreating...

_If Falon initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Falon: **I won't let you lay a hand on my fellow Lions! Let's do this!

_If Falon is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Falon: **Perhaps I pushed myself too far... I must retreat.

_If Reese initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Reese: **I haven't known them long, but I trust my students will take care of this fight well.

_If Reese is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Reese: **Ow... I must retreat now, but the Blue Lions must fight on!

_If You initiate combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Seraphine: **You go get 'em, tiger!

_If You are defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Seraphine: **Oof... I felt that one. You should get out before you get hurt more.

_When the Black Eagles are all defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Derric: **The Black Eagles have fallen and are out of the running!

**Chris: **We did our best, everyone... I'm sorry to let you down.

_When the Golden Deer are all defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Derric: **The Golden Deer can no longer fight and have been eliminated!

**Raithius: **We lost? Damn...

_If the Blue Lions are all defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Derric: **The Blue Lions have all been defeated and are out of the battle!

**Magnolia: **That one hurts... I wish we could have gone further.

**Seraphine: **Are you going to stand for that? No way!

_If the Blue Lions are defeated, You are given a Game Over screen and must try the chapter again._

_After the battle ends, the three houses all stand together._

**Derric: **We have our victor! The Blue Lions have won!

**Falon: **Yes! We did it! Go Lions!

**Magnolia: **It was just a practice battle, Falon. What's the big deal?

**Falon: **Just that we won! It's a cause for celebration, if you ask me.

**Reese: **Let's go back into the monastery.

**Raithius: **Great going, Mags. Color me impressed.

**Chris: **Yeah... I wish I was that good.

**Magnolia: **I owe my thanks to the professor. Without that help, we would probably still be on the battlefield, still going with the fight.

**Derric: **Now that the battle has been won, all classes are to return to the monastery for the rest of the day. Class dismissed.

_You follow everyone else back to the monastery silently. Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **Great job, kiddo! Who knew you had it in you? You've definitely earned my approval! 

_When You arrive back at the monastery, You follow the Blue Lions back to their homeroom for one last conversation._

**Magnolia: **Great going, guys. I can tell you were giving it your all, and if not for that effort, we would not have been victorious.

**Falon: **Thanks again for all you did, Professor.

**Aestlyn: **You have my gratitude and awe for sure.

**Kyle: **I'd love to learn more about your tactics at a later date... Perhaps over a cup of tea?

**Karim: **Same here. Though I won't ask you out like Kyle. I'm not that weird.

**Cassia: **You have my most sincere thanks.

**Illona: **I think you did great... Thank you again, Professor.

**Nora: **I'd love to learn more from you at a later date.

**Reese: **Well, that's it for the day. Time to say goodbye to the good professor.

**Magnolia: **Thank you for coming with us for your first official assignment. It truly is an honor.

**Karim: **You helped us win the mock battle, so I'd say you did pretty well.

**Kyle: **I will see you later... Perhaps in a romantic setting.

**Falon: **Come see us again sometime. We'd love to have you back.

**Cassia: **Do not take this as a plea to return. Teaching a given class is your choice at the end of the day, but we would like to see you again.

**Aestlyn: **Thank you again for all your help.

**Illona: **I-It really was impressive.

**Nora: **Farewell.

**Reese: **That battle took a large chunk of the day. Nothing else is planned. Professor, you look tired. Return to your room to rest for now. We'll see you again soon.

_You nod and thank everyone again._

**Magnolia: **It was our pleasure. Goodbye!

_You leave the classroom, and Seraphine appears next to You._

**Seraphine: **They're good kids... I can't wait to get to know them all better this year. For now, I am so tired. It's time for us to go to sleep. If we share energy, then you have to be just as drowsy as I am, and I feel like I could pass out right here.

_You nod. You walk back to your room before sitting on your bed._

**Seraphine: **I'm pooped. You had a productive first day on the job, Professor. I can tell those kids all appreciate you. I do too... Now, I'm crashing. Goodnight!

_Seraphine falls asleep before disappearing into thin air, but You can hear her snoring in your head. You shake your head and lay down before falling asleep yourself, wondering what the month ahead will bring..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update day big ol yeeeeeeeet
> 
> -Digital


	9. Chapter One: Garreg Mach III (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You make up your mind on a house to side for the first month, and You select Black Eagles.

_After thinking long and hard, You decide to assist the Black Eagles house in your first month of teaching. You tell Aisa, Roy, and the professors such._

**Aisa:** Your choice is the Black Eagles?

_You nod._

**Aisa:** I am glad to hear that you have made the choice that is best for you. I'm sure the Black Eagles will be happy to have you for the next month.

**Herwig: **I'm glad to hear it! The students are bound to be waiting for us back in the classroom.

**Roy:** It's time for you to go and tell them you have made up your mind for the month.

**Aisa:** I hope the Black Eagles treat you well in the month to come.

_You thank everyone there for this opportunity before following Herwig out of the room. She leads You to the Black Eagles homeroom._

**Herwig: **I have a feeling the students will enjoy your company. They're all good kids.

**Seraphine:** He has a lot of faith in his students...

_You follow Herwig to the classroom despite your nerves. He opens the door when you arrive to show all eight of the students inside._

**Chris:** Professor, you're back... This means you're with the Black Eagles, right?

**Polly:** It appears the professor will be with our class for the rest of the year.

**Herwig: **Sort of. The professor will be choosing a house each month to follow and assist in teaching. You can see which house was selected first quite clearly.

**Zelhira:** You chose the Black Eagles first? Good choice.

**Florence:** I'd love to get to know you better in the time to come.

**Hegias: **G-Greetings, Professor.

**Aquillus:** You have my sincere thanks for joining our house.

**Tuncay:** So, the Black Eagles are your favorite?

_You stare at them in surprise before they begin laughing._

**Tuncay:** It was just a joke. No worries. We're glad to have you.

**Callisto:** I'm sure you have a plan as to what you're doing. I don't think the archbishop would have extended this offer to you otherwise.

**Polly:** Chris mentioned the professor saved her life in the village near the monastery. If I had been in her situation, I would have been trusting as well.

**Hegias:** I hope I'm not crossing a line by asking this, but... What made you want to choose our house first? You don't have to answer if you don't want to.

_You explain that You wanted to learn more about the students of this house._

**Hegias:** I see... Thank you.

**Tuncay:** I bet you'll do a great job. If not, well... Things won't turn out well for you.

**Florence: **Ignore them. You'll do fine.

**Herwig:** I'm glad to see everyone is getting along. I was sort of worried things would take a turn for the worse.

**Chris: **I trust the professor, and I think the others do as well...

**Zelhira:** Do you know what we'll be doing first, Professor Wessin?

**Herwig:** When this moon comes to a close, all three houses will be competing in a mock battle to test how skilled the students are.

_You are taken back by the mention of moons. You assume this is how the calendar works, but You cannot remember it due to your amnesia._

**Herwig: **I must apologize for confusing you so. It slipped my mind that you probably wouldn't know about the moon system... We are currently in the Great Tree Moon, or the fourth month of the Fódlan calendar. It's the twenty-first day of the moon.

**Chris:** The battle in the village was yesterday on the twentieth.

**Florence:** I just realized something... If you don't know about the month system, then... You probably don't have a birthday. Do you?

_You shake your head._

**Herwig: **In that case, the choice is yours. I have a calendar on the far wall. Feel free to flip through and find a day you like.

_If You pick a birthday not 4/20 or 4/21._

**Herwig:** Solid decision. We'll help you to celebrate when it comes.

_If You pick a birthday of 4/20._

**Chris:** The day we met...? I like that.

_If You pick a birthday of 4/21._

**Florence: **The day you got your teaching job? That's today! Happy birthday!

_No matter what You say, the following occurs._

**Herwig:** The routine of classes will set in this week. As for the rest of the day, feel free to spend it however you like.

**Seraphine:** They seem like nice kids... I hope we can get to know them better soon.

_The students in the classroom all leave to continue with their days. You do the same. Now that you have decided to follow the Black Eagles for the first month, You choose to spend the rest of your day exploring the monastery with the important choice finished._

_You approach Chris where she is standing with Polly in the courtyard of the Academy._

**Chris: **Until the mock battle, there's not much for us to do... Perhaps you should take this as a chance to learn your way around the monastery.

**Polly: **The mock battle has been a tradition for as long as anyone can remember. It was established to test skill levels among the students. Some use it as an excuse to be competitive, but I have never seen the appeal.

**Chris: **Professor, I got this for you. It's a map of the monastery. I guess that technically the students are new as well, but we've had a bit longer to get used to this place... Anyways, here you are.

_Chris hands You a map. You thank her for it._

**Chris:** No problem... If you need help finding anything, feel free to ask around.

**Polly: **We wish you luck.

_You move away from Chris and Polly. Novalee is also in the courtyard of the Academy, and You approach her next._

**Novalee: **So, you're helping the Black Eagles for the first month? I see... I'll look forward to facing you in the mock battle. Lord Raithius is determined to win... I hope you're ready.

_You ask if You will be participating in the battle._

**Novalee: **Yes. The professors are encouraged to help their students as much as they can during the mock battle. It's not just a test for the students. It's also meant to help the teachers learn how to help their students. It will be your first test as a teacher.

_You leave Novalee behind as You approach one of the remaining people in the courtyard. It happens to be Callisto. She is playing with a snake coiled around her arm._

**Callisto:** You're lucky this is just a mock battle and not a real one. If it was real, I might have to sick little Sven here on you.

_You gasp in shock._

**Callisto: **Oh, I'm just kidding. I wouldn't ever put my little friend in danger... He is a bit risky to mess with though. He won't bite you, but... Well, I'd just advise caution for a while.

_You leave Callisto to her time with the snake and approach the final student in the Academy's courtyard. This time, the person of interest is Cassia._

**Cassia: **Tell me... Do you know anything about where you come from?

_You tell her You do not remember._

**Cassia: **Hm... I wonder if you are a commoner or noble. If you are the latter, chances are you have a Crest.

_You shake your head. You still do not understand much about Crests._

**Cassia: **They're signs of the goddess' power. They're passed down through noble bloodlines. If you're a commoner, you likely don't have one. Oh, to be like that...

_You leave Cassia to her soft musing and leave the Academy. You walk south to the dining hall. There are some familiar faces in here and others You do not recognize. You go to the nearest student, Florence._

**Florence:** I wonder what you did before you fell asleep... I worked as a mercenary before coming here. It gives pretty good pay, and it's great for supporting my family. It may be risky, but if you know what you're doing, it's a piece of cake. Maybe you could try it sometime, if this whole teaching gig doesn't work out. I feel like you'd be great for it.

_You tell her that you'll think about it. Florence smiles._

**Florence: **I'm glad to hear it. For now, let's figure out where you came from. There's too much to figure out there to just pass up on it.

_The next student You see is Wolfgang, who is tending to Olive. She strokes the owl with one finger before turning to you._

**Wolfgang: **There aren't as many mice and rats around here compared to where I'm from. It'll be a rough adjustment for my baby girl here, but I hope she can get used to the food in the dining hall. There has to be something here that's safe for owls. If not, I'll have to go hunting for mice... Not my ideal way to spend the day.

_You assure her Olive will be able to find something._

**Wolfgang: **Yeah... You're right! There's nothing at all to worry about!

_Your gaze falls on an unfamiliar woman standing nearby. She has black hair in twin braids. She doesn't wear the regular Academy uniform, telling You that she isn't a student. Instead, she wears tall socks and boots. She has on high-waisted shorts and a black shirt. A jacket with golden buttons is thrown over the top. A locket hangs from her neck. This is Yuliya Kholodova._

**Yuliya: **You must be the new teaching assistant I've heard so much about. I hope you have a nice time here at the monastery. ...Me? I'm a knight here. Name's Yuliya. Maybe we'll wind up paired together for a mission in the future. Who can say?

_You ask about her job as a knight._

**Yuliya: **You don't know about the knights? The full name is the Knights of Seiros. We serve the central church here at the monastery. We're the best fighters in all of Fódlan. I'd suggest that you not get on our bad sides, especially the knight captain... She's something else, to say the least.

_You thank Yuliya for her explanation and move onto a second student in the dining hall, this one sitting down at a table. You realize it's Aestlyn when You get closer._

**Aestlyn:** I hope you're having a good time at the monastery so far. It's a lot to get used to, but I think this place really is great. It offers a second chance for so many people without any other place to go. I'm only here to learn, but I know a lot of people who are getting other things from this school, just like you. May your time here be positive.

_The final student in the dining hall is Tuncay. They are playing around with a dagger._

**Tuncay:** Constructing weapons here is a lot harder than it is at home. I hope I'll get access to the forge in the market more before the end of this month.

_You ask them where to find the market._

**Tuncay:** It's just south of the monastery. It's the loudest place in all of Garreg Mach, but there's a lot of good stuff to find down there. You should check it out sometime.

_You thank Tuncay for their instructions and focus your attention on the second unfamiliar person in the dining hall. It's a young man with shoulder-length black hair and tanned skin. His left eye is gray while the other is a dark brown, almost black. He wears armor you'd expect of a knight. This is Piers Daunce._

**Piers: **Word among the knights has spread about you already, you know. You're the new professor. I'm Piers Daunce. In case you couldn't already tell, I'm a knight. It's nice to meet you, I suppose.

_Sensing that Piers is not in a talking mood, You walk away from the dining hall, not seeing anyone else to speak with. To the south of the dining hall is the fishing hole and greenhouse. You see a young woman alone at the end of the fishing hole's pier. She has curly dark hair and brown skin. Her eyes are a light brown. She is wearing brown boots and a white skirt with a matching cropped shirt. A golden belt rests at the bottom of her shirt adorned with a green gem. A matching jewel is around her neck. Her name is Nesreen Magdy._

**Nesreen: **You're the new professor, aren't you? Lady Aisa told me about you. I'm Nesreen. I'm the monastery's messenger of sorts. I've been serving Lady Aisa for as long as I can remember, and you need to know that if you put her in danger... Well, things won't end well for you.

_You tell Nesreen You have no intentions of hurting the archbishop._

**Nesreen:** Good to hear. You had better stick to that.

_You head to the greenhouse. Sofia and Illona are standing together inside._

**Sofia: **Come on, Illona! I just want to hang out!

**Illona: **I'm busy... I can't stick around here anymore.

**Sofia: **If that's the case, then why haven't you left? And what do you have to do that's so important?

**Illona: **Um... It's none of your business!

**Sofia:** Come on... Just tell me!

**Illona: **I need to... Fish for... A dog!

**Sofia: **Fish for a dog?

**Illona: **Y-Yes! Using my all new... Broom.

**Sofia: **...I don't know what's sadder, your lying skills or that poor broom...

_You decide to leave the greenhouse, not wanting to interrupt their conversation. Adjacent to the greenhouse is the bottom floor of student dormitories. You see a few students standing around outside it. One of them is Zelhira._

**Zelhira: **Good luck in the mock battle later this month. Everyone is going to be giving their all, so don't think you have it easy just because you have some fighting experience. It'll take a lot of work. If I were you, I'd start to get ready.

_You thank Zelhira for her tip. You notice a nearby staircase and decide to see what it leads to. You find yourself on the second floor of dorms. At the end of the hallway, You see Magnolia and Falon._

**Magnolia: **Greetings, Professor. I'm glad to see you're settling into the monastery alright.

**Falon: **Have a nice month with the Black Eagles, Professor. Maybe you'll come to the Blue Lions next time.

**Magnolia: **Our class might be a bit odd, but we'll be happy to listen to what you have to teach us.

**Falon: **Maybe you'll be able to get Kyle under control too... He's difficult, to say the least.

**Magnolia: **You shouldn't say such about your classmate, Falon.

**Falon: **It's hard not to! He's ridiculous!

_After finishing your conversation with Magnolia and Falon, You head back down the stairs to the primary floor of dorms. You go further down the row of dorms and see Kyle. He is standing with a woman you assume is a knight. She has royal purple eyes and dirty blonde hair. She wears a deep blue shirt with leather arm cuffs. Her trousers are also leather, though the bottom of them are hidden by black boots. Her hair is short and falls around her face. Her name is Kaeta Corin._

**Kyle:** My, why aren't you an attractive girl?

**Kaeta:** Who are you supposed to be? You're a student, right?

**Kyle: **I may be a student, but I am incredible at sensing a true beauty... What do you think led me to you?

**Kaeta: **You're just asking to get a punch to the face at this point.

**Kyle:** I wish not to be hurt by you, my lady. I only want to show you how amazing you are—

**Kaeta: **Nope. That's enough of that. No more flirting.

_You leave Kyle and Kaeta in peace, not wanting to get dragged into their argument. You go up the stairs to the other segment of the student dorms. You see Aquillus standing alone near your room._

**Aquillus: **I just got back from the library on the upper floor. It truly is impressive.

_You ask about the library. You hadn't been aware it existed._

**Aquillus:** It has many books on the history of Fódlan. If you want to know more about the world, that's the best place to start your search.

_You thank Aquillus for his advice. You walk to the edge of the dorms and enter a door to the training hall. There are two knights inside. You do not recognize either of them. One is a woman with red hair tied into a bun. A scar is on her right cheek. Her eyes are amber, and she wears armor expected of the knights. Her name is Cordelia Torryn._

**Cordelia: **Push yourself, Wynne! You can't figure out how much you can do without going far!

_The other person is a young man with mossy green hair and orange eyes. He wears blue and bronze armor with a helmet on his head. This is Wynne Jacobson._

**Wynne: **Got it, Captain!

_The two stop sparring when they see You. Cordelia turns to You first._

**Cordelia:** Looks like we have company. You must be the new teaching assistant we've heard so much about.

**Wynne:** My name is Wynne. I'm a knight!

**Cordelia: **He works under me. Name's Cordelia. I'm the captain of the knights. In other words, if you need any help with a mission, I'll be sent to help you. I hope you enjoy your time at the monastery.

_You think Wynne and Cordelia for their greetings and leave the training grounds. You walk to the nearby reception hall and see a few people inside. You approach Raithius first._

**Raithius: **Congratulations again on your new teaching position, Professor! I really can't call you stranger anymore. I hope you wind up with the Golden Deer and me. I bet you'd have a lot to teach us.

_You thank him._

**Raithius: **It's no problem. Good luck in the mock battle. The Golden Deer will win, but I'll wish you luck anyways!

_You approach Derric next after finishing your conversation with Raithius._

**Derric: **I'm glad to see you're settling in alright. I know things have been moving pretty quickly for you since yesterday. If you need anything from me, I'll help you out. Promise.

_You thank Derric for the offer._

**Derric: **It's no problem. I want to make sure you're comfortable in your new home is all.

_You leave Derric behind and walk to Nora, the final person in the reception hall._

**Nora: **You sure did make your choice fast, huh? You walked around, met all the kids, and chose your house within the span of a few hours. Consider me impressed... Anyways, good luck with the mock battle. I hope you're ready to lose to the Blue Lions.

_You walk away from the reception hall to enter the entrance hall in between the reception area and the market. There's one person in the entrance hall. It's a young man with navy blue hair in a messy bun. His eyes are a deep green. He wears the typical white armor of the knights with a cape of red falling over his back. Some armor on his shoulder has a symbol carved into it. This is Rodain Belmontai._

**Rodain:** I haven't seen your face around here before. Who are you?

_You answer his question._

**Rodain:** A professor, eh? Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Rodain. I'm one of the Knights of Seiros. You've probably seen some of us around the monastery. It's our job to make sure this place is safe and secure, so no need to worry for your safety as long as we're around.

_You nod to Rodain and head into the marketplace. Karim is standing alone, so You approach him._

**Karim:** Black Eagles, huh? Well, if you can change your house affiliation each month, maybe you'll wind up with us one of these days... In the meantime, I hope you're ready for the mock battle. I won't be holding anything back, so you had better be ready!

_You nod to Karim and move on from the marketplace to the stable. Hegias is standing alone in the stables._

**Hegias: **It feels odd being here for school... I haven't gone to school in quite some time. I got busy with fighting for my job.

_You ask him about his job._

**Hegias: **I fought in tournaments back in the Empire. That's how I was discovered and invited here anyways... Staying still like this feels odd, but I hope I can get used to it soon.

_You assure Hegias he will get there soon. He smiles, and You head off for the knights' hall. A single woman stands inside. She has bright cerulean eyes and light blonde hair in a high ponytail. She wears a ruffled blouse with frilled sleeves and a crimson skirt. Two pieces of fabric hang from her shoulders, each one embroidered with the outline of a kneeling woman. Her name is Miriam Arbeid._

**Miriam: **A new face...? Hm. Who are you, stranger?

_You tell her who You are._

**Miriam: **A new professor... I see. My name is Miriam. I'm a knight around here.

_Miriam doesn't speak after that. You back away and leave, walking up to the cathedral. Four students are scattered about. You approach the first one, Lev._

**Lev: **I'm not really looking forward to this fight... I'm not the type of person to enjoy violence. It's frightening... I just want to enjoy a life with Travant.

_You ask about who Travant is._

**Lev: **Travant is my wyvern... He may seem intimidating, but he truly is a sweet soul. I'm sure you'd like him.

_You tell Lev You would like to meet Travant one day. He hums in response, so You move on. William is the next closest student._

**William:** I haven't fought in any official mock battles like this... Technically, I've only fought once. I'm not as professionally trained as some others here, but I'm hoping I'll catch up with them sooner or later.

_You assure William You believe in him._

**William: **Thanks for that, Professor. I won't let you down!

_You leave William behind and walk to Cedric._

**Cedric: **I really don't see the point of fighting for sport. We fight to defend ourselves and those we care about, not because we want to. I understand this is meant to help with our training, but it really is being glorified... I don't think I'll ever understand it fully, if I'm being honest.

_You walk away from William and find Adeline. She is standing near the statue and stepping in an odd rhythm._

**Adeline:** Ah-! Professor! You startled me!

_You ask her what she was doing._

**Adeline:** Um... I've been trying to practice my dance moves, but it's going slowly. I want to do it without being thought of as weird, but I can't go anywhere but here since the cathedral is the only place with music...

_You tell her she should find someone who enjoys singing to help her._

**Adeline: **That's a good idea! Now, the hard part is just finding someone...

_You leave Adeline to her own devices and find the staircase. You walk upstairs, and a hallway stretches out before you. This is the hallway where the teachers' rooms are. You head to the nearest room and find Jill inside._

**Jill:** I don't know if I fully got the chance to explain this before, but I'm not just the teacher for the Golden Deer. I'm also the school's nurse of sorts. You see, I'm an apothecary, and since we don't have any official doctors, I'm the one left to heal these kids up... You had better make sure they stay out of trouble, you hear?

_You leave Jill's room and walk across the hallway to where Herwig is._

**Herwig: **This area up on the second floor has the teachers' area, the library, and the cardinals' room. The archbishop stays in the room just past the teachers' rooms. Unfortunately, we don't have any extra rooms up here for you since your arrival was somewhat last minute... I hope you're alright with staying down on the bottom floor with the students.

_You tell him that sounds alright._

**Herwig: **I'm glad to hear it. I hope they don't cause you too much trouble.

_You leave Herwig's room and walk to the next room, which is Reese's. The room opposite Reese's appears to be locked, but You notice a nameplate indicating it belongs to Roy. You ignore the door and go to see Reese._

**Reese: **We really are raising the future of Fódlan in these halls. It's odd to think about, but it's true... You're ready for this responsibility, yes?

_You assure him You are._

**Reese: **Good. We have to ensure they're ready for whatever awaits them once they graduate... The future of our continent depends on it.

_You leave Reese's room and walk to the library, which is around the corner and down the hall. A young man stands inside. He has warm beige skin, brown eyes, and messy black hair. He wears a yellow tunic with black shorts and hunting boots. A symbol is woven into his tunic in both the front and back. This is Niko Iñigo Lavellan-Indech._

**Niko: **You're the new teacher, right? It's good to meet you. I'm Niko. Derric told me he brought you here last night.

_You ask how he knows Derric._

**Niko: **Derric is my older brother. We don't share common blood since he's adopted, but I trust him with this choice. You had better not let him down, alright?

_You nod._

**Niko:** By the way, I'm the librarian around here. If you need any help researching something, just come to me, and I'll get it done in a jiffy!

_You thank Niko and walk outside the library. In the hallway outside the library, a young man is standing and looking out the window. He's tall with tanned skin and silvery eyes. His hair is black, and three stripes of red run down his cheek from his ear. He is wearing the typical monastery uniform, but it seems relatively ragged. The sleeves are rolled up his forearms, and he has fingerless gloves on. A tattered red scarf is around his neck. This is Adrian Balsa._

**Adrian: **Who might you be? ...You're the new professor? I see! It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Adrian.

_You ask Adrian if he is a student._

**Adrian: **A student? No... I graduated last year, but I'm working at the monastery for the time being. Maybe we'll see each other around over this year. I'm looking forward to it.

_You leave Adrian being and turn the corner and walk into the room where Aisa and Roy are located._

**Aisa: **I trust that you have explored the monastery sufficiently for the day.

**Roy: **I imagine your students were quite excited to learn of your decision.

_You nod._

**Roy:** I'm glad to hear it.

**Aisa: **The day is almost over... Perhaps it's time for us to retire.

**Roy:** Tomorrow, the real work begins. It's time to start preparing for the mock battle.

**Aisa: **Until tomorrow, Professor. Goodnight.

_You thank them and leave to return your room. When You arrive, Seraphine sits on the bed._

**Seraphine: **I could get used to this life... It's pretty nice, I must say. Teaching is nothing when you get all of this nice stuff by default, huh? ... Anyways, the archbishop is right. It's time to get to sleep. I'm exhausted. Goodnight, Professor!

_Seraphine giggles at using your title and lays down on the floor. You take the bed and fall asleep yourself, wondering what the future holds..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is coming out early but fight me
> 
> -Digital


	10. Chapter One: Garreg Mach IV (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You fight in the mock battle alongside the Black Eagles.

_A little over a week after You arrived at the monastery, the day of the mock battle has arrived. You walk into your homeroom where all of your students are already standing with Herwig._

**Chris: **The day of the mock battle has come... Now is where things get difficult.

**Florence: **We are totally going to win this!

**Chris: **I have never quite understood the competitive part of this... We're all in the same class. Shouldn't we be working together?

**Herwig: **Healthy competition is good for the body and mind... At least, that's what Jill always says.

**Callisto: **We're going to do this! We're ready!

**Aquillus: **I'm not exactly fond of having a mock battle when there are other things we should be doing, but... I suppose I can't really change it. 

**Hegias: **Professor, you'll make sure nothing too bad happens, right?

**Tuncay: **We should be fine. We're all capable fighters, and the teachers were assigned to the Academy for a reason.

**Polly: **I hope you can handle this, Professor. It's a lot of pressure.

**Florence: **We can totally do this. The professor wouldn't let us down now.

**Zelhira: **It's time for us to go to the battlefield. There's not a moment to delay.

**Herwig: **Derric is set to be overlooking the match to ensure no one is badly injured. I hear Derric is going to be judging this fight, deciding when teams are out and such.

**Chris:** I trust Derric to make fair judgements, but I'm still scared out of my mind...

**Callisto: **It's time to go and kick some tail!

**Aquillus: **You seem rather confident... Alright. I'll play along.

**Polly: **We can handle this. We're some of the best fighters in Adrestia. No need to worry.

**Tuncay: **It's time to show what we're made of.

_You and the students walk to the door. Chris walks beside You._

**Chris: **G-Good luck out there, Professor... We're all counting on you.

_You nod and follow the students and Herwig out to the battlefield. The mock battle is set to take place in a large field with minimal terrain and a few trees._

**Derric: **This field will be the scene of our mock battle this year. You all will fight in an organized manner, not trying to kill each other, but instead just trying to force a retreat. Nobody here will die, if you were concerned about such a thing. This will allow the professors, who will fight alongside you, to learn where you are as students and what to focus on in the future when training you. All students will participate in this fight to accurately gauge skill. With that said, it's time to begin. Make your final preparations now.

_The battle begins around You. You stand with the Black Eagles and Herwig. The other houses stand with their own professors. You lead your students in combat, telling them who to attack and when._

_If Chris initiates combat with Magnolia, this dialogue will play out._

**Chris:** H-Hello, Magnolia... I just wanted to apologize in advance for what I'm about to do.

**Magnolia:** You don't have to. It's all part of the exercise. I'll be fine.

**Chris: **Alright... Let's just get this over with.

_If You initiate combat with Magnolia, this dialogue will play out._

**Magnolia:** You're rather skilled... You know, I'd love it if you helped out my class one day. I think you could teach us all a lot. But until then, let's fight!

_If anyone else initiates combat with Magnolia, this dialogue will play out._

**Magnolia: **For the sake of the Blue Lions, I'll give it my all!

_When Magnolia is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Magnolia: **Ow... Sorry, everyone. I can't keep this up for much longer. I have to get out of here.

_If anyone initiates combat with Aestlyn, this dialogue will play out._

**Aestlyn:** My friends are all rather excited about this, so... This is for them!

_When Aestlyn is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Aestlyn: **Oh, that one smarts! Sorry, you guys... It seems I must retreat.

_If anyone initiates combat with Nora, this dialogue will play out._

**Nora: **I hope this is over soon... Let's get this over with.

_When Nora is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Nora: **Ow... I have to leave now, I'm afraid. I'll see you all later.

_If anyone initiates combat with Illona, this dialogue will play out._

**Illona: **P-Please don't hit me too hard... My bones are very fragile, you know!

_When Illona is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Illona: **My fragile bones ache... I have to get out of here...

_If anyone initiates combat with Kyle, this dialogue will play out._

**Kyle: **Well, aren't you the attractive one? Maybe we can go out after this is over!

_When Kyle is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Kyle: **I may need to retreat, but my offer of a date still stands!

_If anyone initiates combat with Karim, this dialogue will play out._

**Karim: **I do hope you won't hate me after this. I'd rather like to keep most friendships intact for the rest of the year.

_When Karim is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Karim: **Yikes! You hit hard! It's time for me to head out.

_If anyone initiates combat with Cassia, this dialogue will play out._

**Cassia: **My family told me they really wanted me to win this battle... For their sake, I will fight.

_When Cassia is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Cassia: **I apologize... Please don't find me a failure for retreating...

_If anyone initiates combat with Falon, this dialogue will play out._

**Falon: **I won't let you lay a hand on my fellow Lions! Let's do this!

_When Falon is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Falon: **Perhaps I pushed myself too far... I must retreat.

_If anyone initiates combat with Reese, this dialogue will play out._

**Reese:** I haven't known them long, but I trust my students will take care of this fight well.

_When Reese is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Reese: **Ow... I must retreat now, but the Blue Lions must fight on!

_If Chris initiates combat with Raithius, this dialogue will play out._

**Chris:** Um... Raithius? I hate to say this, but... I'm going to have to fight you now.

**Raithius: **I know. But I won't hold it against you. That's how this is meant to go.

**Chris: **Still, I hope you don't hate me too much for this after we're finished here...

_If You initiate combat with Raithius, this dialogue will play out._

**Raithius: **You may have experience over most of us, but I won't let that stop me. We will win, Professor!

_If anyone else initiates combat with Raithius, this dialogue will play out._

**Raithius: **As the house leader of the Golden Deer, here is my solemn promise that we will win!

_When Raithius is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Raithius: **I went too far... You all can take care of things from here.

_If anyone initiates combat with Sofia, this dialogue will play out._

**Sofia: **I hope my performance here helps me pick up some cuties!

_When Sofia is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Sofia: **Perhaps my flirtatious efforts will have to wait... Time for me to get out of here!

_If anyone initiates combat with Wolfgang, this dialogue will play out._

**Wolfgang: **Olive is expecting me to come back a winner, and I will!

_When Wolfgang is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Wolfgang: **That... That one hurt... Sorry, guys. I have to leave now.

_If anyone initiates combat with Cedric, this dialogue will play out._

**Cedric: **A true noble of justice will try to win this fight, hm? Then that's what I'll do!

_When Cedric is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Cedric: **I guess my noble wishes will have to wait until next time... I must go.

_If anyone initiates combat with Adeline, this dialogue will play out._

**Adeline: **My house is counting on me, and I won't let them down!

_When Adeline is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Adeline: **I'm sorry, everyone... I need to get out of here...

_If anyone initiates combat with Novalee, this dialogue will play out._

**Novalee: **I find this competition silly, but if Lord Raithius wishes to win... I suppose we will.

_When Novalee is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Novalee: **Forgive me, everyone... I must pull out.

_If anyone initiates combat with William, this dialogue will play out._

**William: **I wonder what will happen if we win... Only one way to find out!

_When William is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**William: **I suppose my curiosity will be left unsatisfied for now...

_If anyone initiates combat with Lev, this dialogue will play out._

**Lev: **I-I don't really mind who wins, but... I'll do my best!

_When Lev is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Lev: **Ow... I'm sorry... I have to leave now...

_If anyone initiates combat with Jill, this dialogue will play out._

**Jill: **Healthy competition like this is necessary... And we're going to win it!

_When Jill is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Jill: **Perhaps I overestimated myself...

_If Chris initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Chris: **I'm not a fan of needless fighting, but I will give my all regardless!

_If Chris is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Chris: **Ack! I can't go any further... I'm sorry, everyone... I have to pull back.

_If Polly initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Polly: **I'll have you know that I don't intend to lose this fight. For the sake of the Black Eagles, I will succeed.

_If Polly is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Polly: **Perhaps my ambitions were too great... I must retreat for now.

_If Florence initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Florence: **I don't plan to lose here today. Time to show you what I'm made of!

_When Florence is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Florence: **Oof... Yeah, I can't do this anymore. Sorry, everyone!

_If Zelhira initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Zelhira: **I truly don't see the point of getting competitive with this, but I don't have much of a choice but to go along with it... Let's just get this over with.

_If Zelhira is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Zelhira: **I suppose I didn't do enough... Time to pull out.

_If Hegias initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Hegias: **If you want to fight, I suppose you can... I still don't see the point of this battle, but alright.

_If Hegias is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Hegias: **That's enough of that... I must go for now. Good luck, everyone.

_If Callisto initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Callisto: **It's time for me to show what I'm made of. Let's dance!

_If Callisto is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Callisto: **Ouch! I can't keep fighting... Sorry, everybody. I have to go.

_If Tuncay initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Tuncay: **My bladed babies are ready for this. Here's the true might of my spectacular axe!

_If Tuncay is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Tuncay: **I-I guess they weren't sharp enough... I have to leave... Ow...

_If Aquillus initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Aquillus: **I studied strategies for this battle, you know. I wonder which one will be most effective in winning...

_If Aquillus is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Aquillus: **I guess my strategy wasn't sound enough... I must pull back.

_If Herwig initiates combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Herwig: **We are sure to win this battle. The Black Eagles will show what we're made of!

_If Herwig is defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Herwig: **I still... I still have a lot to teach and learn... I must go for now.

_If You initiate combat, this dialogue will play out._

**Seraphine: **You go get 'em, tiger!

_If You are defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Seraphine: **Oof... I felt that one. You should get out before you get hurt more.

_When the Blue Lions are all defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Derric: **The Blue Lions have all been defeated and are out of the battle!

**Magnolia:** That one hurts... I wish we could have gone further.

_When the Golden Deer are all defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Derric: **The Golden Deer can no longer fight and have been eliminated!

**Raithius: **We lost? Damn...

_If the Black Eagles are all defeated, this dialogue will play out._

**Derric: **The Black Eagles have fallen and are out of the running!

**Chris: **We did our best, everyone... I'm sorry to let you down.

**Seraphine: **Are you going to stand for that? No way!

_If the Black Eagles are defeated, You are given a Game Over screen and must try the chapter again._

_After the battle ends, the three houses all stand together._

**Derric: **We have our victor! The Black Eagles have won!

**Chris: **W-We did it? Oh, goddess, we did it!

**Polly: **The other houses are cleared out, so, yes, we did do it.

**Chris:** I-It's not that I have little faith in our house, I just... Wow! I actually helped us win!

**Herwig: **It's time for us to return to the monastery now that the battle has been won.

**Raithius: **Great going. Color me impressed.

**Magnolia:** Great job, Chris. You did well at leading your classmates.

**Chris: **The professor did all the heavy lifting... Without that guidance, I don't think things would have turned out the way they did.

**Derric: **Now that the battle has been won, all classes are to return to the monastery for the rest of the day. Class dismissed.

_You follow everyone else back to the monastery silently. Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **Great job, kiddo! Who knew you had it in you? You've definitely earned my approval! 

_When You arrive back at the monastery, You follow the Black Eagles back to their homeroom for one last conversation._

**Chris:** Good job, everyone... We wouldn't be here without your hard work in that battle.

**Polly: **We cannot thank you enough for your help.

**Florence: **I'd love to hear more from you in the future.

**Zelhira:** I would enjoy it if you taught me more about the tactics you employed one day...

**Tuncay: **I didn't expect you to do so much... Great going.

**Aquillus:** I'd like to learn from you in the future as well.

**Hegias: **Thanks for everything, Professor.

**Callisto: **I'd love to write a story about our victory... It would truly make for a gripping tale.

**Herwig: **That's all we have time for today. The battle took up a lot of the day, which means you all have the rest of the day off. The professor is leaving our house now though.

**Chris: **Thanks again for all your help. I'm honored you'd choose us to fight with first.

**Callisto: **Thanks to you, we came out on top. Sounds like a great first assignment to me with those results.

**Aquillus: **Goodbye for now.

**Florence: **Come back later on, Professor. It would be great to have you with us again.

**Zelhira: **Of course, you don't have to come back if you do not wish to. The choice is yours to make.

**Florence: **Thanks again, and great job!

**Hegias: **I think you did amazing.

**Polly: **Goodbye.

**Herwig: **Professor, you look like you're going to collapse unconscious right here. You should head back to your room and rest up. We'll surely meet again soon. 

_You nod and thank everyone again._

**Chris: **It was nothing. See you around.

_You leave the classroom, and Seraphine appears next to You._

**Seraphine: **They're good kids... I can't wait to get to know them all better this year. For now, I am so tired. It's time for us to go to sleep. If we share energy, then you have to be just as drowsy as I am, and I feel like I could pass out right here.

_You nod. You walk back to your room before sitting on your bed._

**Seraphine: **I'm pooped. You had a productive first day on the job, Professor. I can tell those kids all appreciate you. I do too... Now, I'm crashing. Goodnight!

_Seraphine falls asleep before disappearing into thin air, but You can hear her snoring in your head. You shake your head and lay down before falling asleep yourself, wondering what the month ahead will bring..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, chapter one is done!
> 
> -Digital


	11. Chapter Two: The Wandering Scholar I (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You explore the monastery after being given your next mission: to seek out Crest scholar Evenor Hepius.

_You awaken the day after the mock battle to find it is the first day of the Harpstring Moon, the fifth month of the _ _Fódlan calendar. The first full month of your teaching job is about to begin, and You see Seraphine on your way out to see the archbishop._

**Seraphine: **What do you think we’ll be doing this month? It’s not as if we can meet with our students or anything for a mock battle. That’s over. Do you think we’ll have an actual mission? That would be amazing!

_You shake your head, unsure._

**Seraphine: **I guess all we can do is ask the archbishop about it. She’s bound to have a plan for what we should do next, and if she doesn’t know yet, then she’ll be able to tell us when it is figured out.

_You nod your agreement and make your way to the archbishop’s area upstairs. When you arrive, You see Aisa and Roy standing together._

**Aisa: **Good morning, Professor. I hope you slept well.

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I am glad to hear it. I can tell you’re curious about this month’s mission, but I first would like to congratulate you on how well you did in the mock battle. I truly was impressed.

_You thank Aisa for her compliment._

**Aisa: **I am only speaking the truth.

**Roy: **In the battle, we did notice something though… Or rather, Derric told us about something, and we’ve grown rather curious on the matter.

**Aisa: **I’m sure you have heard about Crests by now. They are symbols of power from the goddess, often found in noble houses scattered throughout Fódlan. In this past battle, Derric noticed that you activated a Crest of your own.

_You react with shock._

**Aisa: **He saw this in the first battle as well, but we weren’t able to do much about it due to how soon the mock battle was… However, now, we have all the time in the world.

**Roy: **We have tracked down a famous Crest scholar to help you figure out what Crest you possess. We don’t have any experts on Crests here at the monastery, making it difficult to identify.

**Aisa: **This month, your mission will be to meet with this Crest scholar. She has agreed to help you determine what Crest you have, information you will then relay back to us.

_You cannot help but wonder why You cannot go and meet with this scholar now._

**Aisa: **She is a rather busy woman, I am afraid. She gave us a time to come see her, and she doesn’t like it when people break her schedule. After you pick a house for this month, you will train with them to further their skills, and you will visit the scholar at the end of the moon.

**Roy: **We doubt you’ll need to fight to go and see her, but it’s worth being on your guard. She is something of a peculiar character, and while we believe she’ll tell you what Crest you have without issue, things could easily go wrong. Just in case something happens, we need you all to be ready.

**Aisa: **Now, the time has come for you to select your house for the month. All of the professors are already aware of your mission.

_You think long and hard about your decision, and in the end, You decide to follow the Black Eagles for the month._

**Roy: **You have chosen the Black Eagles?

_You nod._

**Roy: **Good choice. Now, you should return to your house and tell your students you will be with them.

**Aisa: **While the professors are aware of the mission, we didn’t tell any students of what the mission is for this month given how personal it is to you. I’m sure word will spread fast once you tell your given house, but you deserve the right to explain things to your students first.

**Roy: **Good luck, Professor.

_You thank Roy and Aisa and begin walking back to the homeroom of the Black Eagles. Seraphine walks beside you._

**Seraphine: **A Crest scholar, huh? Hm… How strange. I’ve noticed something within you from the start, but I didn’t think it would be related to a Crest… Perhaps we should have noticed sooner.

_You shrug, unsure. It hadn’t come to mind for You either._

**Seraphine: **There’s no point in thinking too much on it now. Let’s talk to your students for now. After that, the day is ours.

_You arrive at the homeroom soon after and see Herwig standing with the eight students at the back of the room._

**Herwig: **Greetings, Professor. I see you have made your choice for the month. I hope you have a great time with the Black Eagles this month.

**Chris: **Um… It’s nice to see you again, Professor. You did a great job in the mock battle.

**Polly: **Truly, it was impressive.

**Herwig: **However, the mock battle is now behind us. I hear you have received another mission.

_You nod and explain the mission. You are to find a Crest scholar and speak with her about what Crest You possess._

**Florence: **A Crest scholar, huh? Sounds pretty fancy.

**Herwig: **Her name is Evenor Hepius. Rumor has it she was once working in the service of the Faixnoye family, though she left them roughly twelve years ago.

**Chris: **She worked for my family? Then again, if it was twelve years ago, it would make sense as to why I don’t remember her much…

**Hegias: **We’re really going to see her?

**Aquillus: **It sounds like it. Why do you ask?

**Hegias: **It’s just… Evenor could be called my mentor. She helped me get into the Academy in the first place. It would be great to see her again.

**Tuncay: **Damn. I guess the world’s a lot smaller than you’d expect it to be.

**Zelhira: **I wonder what Crest you could possibly have, Professor… It’s not one that I recognize, at the very least.

**Callisto: **I don’t know much about Crests, but we apparently have somebody at the monastery this year from every Crest faction except for one.

**Zelhira: **I noticed that as well. We have someone from each line save for Lamine.

**Aquillus: **If a Lamine bearer would be in any house, it would probably be the Blue Lions, given that Lamine is a region from Faerghus.

**Hegias: **What is the leader of House Lamine like?

**Florence: **I haven’t met her myself, nor have I ever been to Faerghus, but I do know some mercenaries who have been around her before. She’s said to be an unpleasant and stingy woman with a hatred for those without Crests. Most choose not to consort with her because of it.

**Callisto: **Maybe our dear professor here happens to be our bearer of Lamine then.

**Zelhira: **I don’t believe that to be the case. I somehow doubt a Crest bearer would be able to escape House Lamine. It’s harsh, but I get the feeling that house doesn’t let anyone with a Crest go.

**Herwig: **No matter what the truth is, we’ll find out at the end of the month. We have an appointment set up with Evenor Hepius on the last day of the moon.

**Hegias: **That sounds just like her… She was always so strict about her schedules.

**Chris: **It sounds like this mission will be rather relaxed too… Thank goodness. The mock battle was enough fighting for me.

**Polly: **Just because it seems peaceful doesn’t mean that it will be. Things are a lot more complicated than what they seem on the surface.

**Chris: **I know that. I’m just trying to seem positive.

**Aquillus: **You? Optimistic? Sounds fake.

**Chris: **H-Hey!

**Florence: **Leave her alone. She’s trying her best. I see where both of you are coming from. If we’re just going to see a scholar, that shouldn’t require any fighting. It’s a simple in and out deal where we hear the details and leave.

**Tuncay: **I have a bad feeling about this. I can’t put a finger on it, but I feel like something is going to go wrong.

**Callisto: **No need to be so uptight and worried, Tuncay. We’re all going to be fine. This visit is going to be a piece of cake.

**Tuncay: **Saying that really doesn’t make me feel any better, Callus.

**Aquillus: **No matter what happens, we can’t face it until the end of the month, which means we should spend all that time in between now and then training. Even if this won’t require fighting, it’s still important that we stay on top of our guard in case something does happen in the future.

**Herwig: **I must agree with Aquillus. We’ll begin our training at the next available opportunity. For now, class dismissed. Be safe out there.

_The students all walk out of the classroom, Herwig following them. You do the same. You cannot help but feel the same way as Tuncay. You wonder if things are truly as simple as they seem, but You will not know until the end of the month._

**Seraphine: **I can tell you’re worried. It’s going to be fine. Nothing is going to go wrong.

_You nod, but You can hear the uncertainty in Seraphine’s voice. You figure she is nervous because You are, but You choose not to call her out on it. Instead, You return to your room and spend the rest of the day alone._

_That weekend, You wake up and decide to explore the monastery. You leave your room and begin to wander around to speak with the people in the monastery. Just outside your room, in the string of nearby student dorms, You see Florence and decide to approach her._

**Florence: **I can’t help but wonder what Crest you could have… I mean, if it was the same as somebody else’s in the monastery, it would be recognized, but nobody has picked up on it. I must wonder what’s going on here if you do have a different Crest… I don’t know much about the Crest system, nor do I really care to find out about it, but this is really bugging me. I just have to know!

_You walk away from Florence and approach another person in the student dorm area. It is Yuliya, You notice._

**Yuliya: **Going to see a scholar, huh? And one that’s independent from the church? I don’t know what the archbishop is doing, but it’s weird. Normally, she doesn’t ask for help from anyone outside of the church… Be on your guard. Things could easily go wrong here.

_You nod to Yuliya and walk to the edge of the student dorms where the greenhouse is located. You see Zelhira inside, examining the plants._

**Zelhira: **I’ve done some research since hearing about the mission. I don’t think you have the Crest of Lamine. The symbol doesn’t match the one I’ve seen you using. It makes one wonder what Crest you could possibly have instead… Quite the conundrum.

_You leave Zelhira behind and walk to the upstairs dorm area. There is one person up there, and You realize upon getting closer that it is Cassia._

**Cassia: **A Crest scholar… Hm. I’ve heard there are many experiments being done involving Crests these days, though I’m unsure of the details. I wonder if this expert would know how to remove a Crest… That would change our current political climate for sure...

_You nod to Cassia before returning downstairs and going to the fishing hole. You can see someone standing alone at the dock, and upon growing nearer, You see it is Cedric._

**Cedric: **I don’t have much experience with fishing, but it would be nice to learn… I’ve studied a variety of subjects for many years, but fishing has never come up. Do you know how to fish, Professor?

_You tell him You do not._

**Cedric: **Perhaps we can learn together sometime then. It could be a learning experience for us both.

_You agree with Cedric and walk to the marketplace nearby. Tuncay is standing in front of the blacksmith’s stall._

**Tuncay: **Making weapons around here is way harder than back home. I have to actually buy the supplies instead of just borrowing them from the others in my village. Plus, I don’t exactly have easy access to the forge. I have to figure that stuff out on my own.

_You ask if Tuncay needs any help._

**Tuncay: **I’ll be fine. I’ll handle it, no problem.

_You nod to Tuncay and leave the marketplace to head north to the entrance hall. Adrian is standing inside._

**Adrian: **Evenor Hepius… I’ve heard quite a bit about her. She’s famous for her breakthroughs in Crest research. There are few in the field who don’t know her name.

_You ask how Adrian knows of her._

**Adrian: **I heard about her while I was a student here last year. Crests are a mildly interesting subject to me though… Maybe I could ask her a thing or two when we meet, even if it won’t be this week.

_You tell him that would be a good idea before moving onto the next person in the hallway, Adeline._

**Adeline: **A Crest scholar… Hm. I heard Ms. Hepius has been researching potential ways to gift or remove Crests. I haven’t heard the full details, but that is something odd, to be sure. Crests… They can’t be removed or given. That’s what I’ve always heard, but I suppose anything is possible…

_You can sense Adeline would like some time to think, so You leave her and the entrance hall behind to head upwards in the monastery to the next major hall. Inside, You find Falon._

**Falon: **I can’t help but wonder where you come from, Professor. At the end of the day, you are who you are regardless of where you came from, but I can’t help my curiosity. Maybe this Crest scholar will be able to help us find our answers.

_You tell her that You hope so._

**Falon: **Just remember that we’ll care about you no matter what happens. That’s a promise!

_You thank Falon for her kindness and move to the next person in the hall, who happens to be Kaeta._

**Kaeta: **That mock battle went pretty well, or so I heard. Derric seemed impressed at least. I’m glad to see the students are settling in well though. This place can be a bit hard to adjust to at first. Speaking of, if you ever need anything, Professor, all you need to do is call me. You know, unless it’s about talking to that Kyle kid. I can’t even stand to look at him.

_You nod to Kaeta and leave the reception hall to walk to the dining area. Inside of the dining area, You see Nesreen standing alone._

**Nesreen: **I was the one who communicated with this Crest scholar on behalf of the archbishop. In the time we spoke, I learned that she’s a peculiar woman, to say the least. I get the feeling she’s not someone you want to mess around with. I suggest that you take care of your business and then be cautious if you need to stick around.

_You thank Nesreen for her advice and move onto the other person in the dining hall, Wynne._

**Wynne: **I wish some of us knights got to come along with you on this mission, but the archbishop wants us doing other things. It’s nowhere near as interesting as what you’re getting up to. It really is unfortunate, but I’m sure we’ll get our time together someday.

_You agree with Wynne and leave the dining hall to walk north. The courtyard of the Officers Academy has three students in it. The first of them is Kyle, who You approach primarily._

**Kyle: **I hear this Crest scholar is a woman… I wonder if she’d be open to flirtations.

_You shake your head at Kyle._

**Kyle: **What? You never know when you’re going to find that special person. For all I know, they could be anywhere. I might as well start looking. It’s never too soon to begin your search.

_You decide to take Kyle’s word for it as You move onto Sofia, who is standing nearby._

**Sofia: **I tried so hard to get a girl after that mock battle, but I didn’t wind up with a single date, which is a real tragedy. There are a lot of cuties around here… Oh, well. I’m sure I’ll find my lucky someone one of these days, and until then, there’s not much I can do.

_You leave Sofia behind and approach the final student in the Academy’s courtyard, who happens to be Novalee._

**Novalee: **The mock battle wasn’t that long ago, but it feels like ages have passed since then… We’re already moving onto another mission. It’s odd, but not entirely unexpected. The church wants to get things done. Still, it is a jarring shift.

_You agree with Novalee before checking the classrooms. You find Callisto in the Black Eagles classroom._

**Callisto: **You know, I didn’t think we would be hopping into such serious business right off the bat. We’ve only been here three weeks or so at most depending on the different arrival times, and now, we’re going out into the field… Oh, well. I guess nothing can be done about it.

_You leave the Black Eagles classroom and head next door to where the Blue Lions are. Karim is alone inside._

**Karim: **I don’t know what we’re going to be doing after this month’s mission… I’m sure the church will figure out something for us, but I’m still curious. This month doesn’t seem to involve battle, which means next month will be our next experience in a real fight. Man, I can’t tell if I’m more excited or terrified!

_After finishing your conversation with Karim, You go to the Golden Deer homeroom and speak to its only occupant, William._

**William: **You know, I wonder if you’re in a similar situation as me… I didn’t know I had a Crest until many years after I was born. Most people find out at a young age, but I didn’t due to being raised a commoner. It wasn’t until shortly before I came here that the truth found a way out. I figured everybody here would know about their Crests already, but I suppose not… I wish you luck no matter what.

_You thank William and leave the Officers Academy to enter the training hall nearby. Derric and Miriam are inside._

**Miriam: **I have a bad feeling about all of this.

**Derric: **You have no reason to worry. The students can handle this mission. It doesn’t even involve fighting.

**Miriam: **As a knight, you should know by now that not everything goes as expected. Before we know it, everything could change.

**Derric: **I suppose so… But things haven’t changed yet, so we might as well enjoy the peace we have yet. There’s no need to prepare until things seem like they’re going to change greatly, right?

**Miriam: **I suppose… I’ll trust that for now, but the instant anything goes wrong…

**Derric: **I understand.

_You can tell the conversation is tense, so You leave them to it and exit the training hall. You make your way around the monastery before reaching the knights’ hall. Cordelia stands alone inside._

**Cordelia: **The Knights of Seiros are supposed to help the students out on their missions when it is required, but since this mission is meant to be peaceful, none of us are being summoned to come along. It feels odd, just sitting here and twiddling my thumbs, but we’ll get our chance soon enough.

_You agree with her and leave the knights’ hall to go to the stables. Inside, You see Lev standing near a large wyvern._

**Lev: **I-I think I mentioned Travant to you before, yes, Professor? Well… Here he is. Say hi, Travant.

_The wyvern looks at You but doesn’t do much else._

**Lev: **He’s friendly, I promise… Though it does take him a while to warm up to people… I hope he figures out how to make this place home sooner rather than later.

_The other person in the stables is Wolfgang, who You approach next._

**Wolfgang: **Olive loves spending time around here. I think it’s because most of the owls in the monastery make their nests here. It’s easy for her to make friends when all of the other owls are hanging out in a set location. It’s nice to see her around so many others of her kind…

_You leave the stables and head north to the cathedral. On the bridge there, You run into Hegias._

**Hegias: **I can’t wait to see Evenor again… It’s been far too long. She helped me get into the Academy to begin with by introducing me to the tournament fighting scene. Without her, I don’t know where I’d be… I owe a lot to her, to say the least.

_You leave Hegias to his thoughts and enter the cathedral. You see three students inside, and You approach the first one, Polly._

**Polly: **Crests are funny things… They can either be thought of as great helps or horrible hindrances. Those who have them benefit from an inherent step up, and they can use that power in awful ways. Meanwhile, those who lack Crests are treated as lesser. It makes you wonder what sort of society we’re living in.

_After walking away from Polly, You approach Nora._

**Nora: **I can’t help but think about what the future holds for us here at the Academy. All I ever heard about was the mock battle and graduation. Everything is a mystery in between. Who knows what will happen in between now and the final day? Anything can change at any moment.

_You leave Nora behind and approach the final student, Aquillus._

**Aquillus: **I really don’t know what to think of all this… I know there’s no battle planned, but it still seems odd. Why would we go on a mission that doesn’t involve combat when we came here to learn how to fight? I have a bad feeling about it, but I suppose there aren’t many options.

_You allow Aquillus to continue on as he had been before going upstairs. In the immediate hallway upstairs, You run into Magnolia and Raithius._

**Magnolia: **You know, it shocks me how many Major Crests we have here at the Academy this year.

**Raithius: **I agree. It’s odd, to say the least.

**Magnolia: **Ah, Professor! It’s good to see you.

**Raithius: **Wait… It just hit me. You probably don’t know the difference between Major and Minor Crests.

_You tell him You do not know._

**Magnolia: **There are many noble bloodlines scattered about the three nations. Most of these high-ranking families bear Crests, or symbols of the goddess’ power.

**Raithius: **They can come in two forms, Major and Minor. Major Crests are stronger but are much harder to come across. Minor Crests, on the other hand, are on the weaker side but are found much more frequently.

**Magnolia: **It feels odd to see so many bearers of Major Crests gathered together… Life acts in odd ways, I suppose.

_You thank the pair for their explanation and begin to head down the hallway at the heart of the upper floor. You enter Reese’s room first._

**Reese: **I wish we had someone who knew a lot about Crests here at the Academy. It seems odd that we don’t have anyone here… I suppose that’s something for Lady Aisa to do in the future. Maybe she wants to hire this Evenor Hepius woman, which would explain the interest… But who can say? This is all merely speculation.

_You leave Reese’s room and enter the Jill’s nearby room._

**Jill: **The mock battle was only a fight to see who was skilled in what areas, but from here on out is when it gets ugly. We have a lot to do with fighting for the rest of the school year, and that means people will get hurt more. It’s a vicious cycle… I’ll never understand it.

_After finishing your conversation with Jill, You approach Herwig._

**Herwig: **I’ve been doing minor research into Crests since coming to the Academy, but I never thought to consider myself an expert. There’s too much for me to learn about while still focusing on my teaching job. Maybe I’ll be able to delve deeper one day, but for now, talking to someone else about it will have to do.

_You leave Herwig’s room and start walking down the hallway to the library. Outside, You run into Rodain and Piers._

**Rodain: **I have to wonder about what the future holds for us… It’s so peaceful. It’s like there’s nothing for us to do.

**Piers: **Enjoy it. We all know this peace isn’t going to last, and when it goes downhill, you’re going to wish you had taken advantage of it more.

**Rodain: **Touchy, aren’t we? But I suppose you have a point. For now, that sounds like a plan.

_You walk away from Rodain and Piers to enter the library. You see Aestlyn inside and decide to approach her._

**Aestlyn: **There are multiple pairs of students at this school that share a Crest. Many generations ago, their houses were once one, but they split off at some point for various reasons. It means the people who now have those Crests are distantly related… It’s odd to look at Adeline and know she shares my Crest. I’m so used to being the only one with it…

_You leave Aestlyn and walk to the other person in the library, Niko._

**Niko: **I love looking around the library, even if it’s my job to keep this place in order. I can’t help it. It’s too interesting to ignore. I wish I could be like the heroes in these books, doing what’s right no matter what… Oh, what a dream.

_You walk away from Niko and leave the library. You walk down the hallway past the main area with the other teachers’ rooms to enter the other area. This is the cardinals’ room. Inside, You can see two people standing together. They are Chris and Illona._

**Chris: **Um… Hey, Illona. I noticed you were kind of lonely when hanging out around the monastery, and I just wanted to make sure you were okay.

**Illona: **I’m alright… I just needed some peace and quiet.

**Chris: **Oh, I see… Do you… Do you want to talk about anything?

**Illona: **Maybe in a little bit… I think I just want to watch the people for now.

**Chris: **Okay…

**Illona: **But, um… Thanks for the offer.

**Chris: **No problem.

_You leave Chris and Illona before heading back to the room where Aisa and Roy are located. You speak with Roy first in his office off the main area._

**Roy: **The archbishop has a lot of faith in your abilities for this mission. I trust you won’t let her down. You have a bright future ahead of you. I can already tell.

_You thank Roy for the compliment before going out to speak with Aisa._

**Aisa: **Evenor Hepius will be the perfect person for you to speak to about your Crest. I cannot help but wonder what could be hiding in your blood… Only she can say, so all we can do until we see her is wait. In the meantime, enjoy your time here at the monastery. We are glad to have you, Professor. If you need anything, just say the word.

_You thank Aisa for her offer before leaving her room behind. You have grown tired, and You wish to go to sleep for the day._

**Seraphine: **I’m exhausted too… We have a big month ahead of us, so we should sleep while we can.

_You head back to your room before falling asleep for the night, ready to start the first official month of your teaching job. Your duties will only grow as the months go on, but You cannot help but be excited despite this… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was finished ages ago but wow I am so excited for this chapter
> 
> -Digital


	12. Chapter Two: The Wandering Scholar II (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Black Eagles set out to rescue Evenor from soldiers dressed in black.

_When the end of the month comes, your house stands together in the Black Eagles homeroom. It is the last day before the mission, and You are having one more meeting before going off to meet with Evenor Hepius._

**Herwig: **I’m afraid we’ve received some bad news today.

**Aquillus: **What is it?

**Herwig: **An unknown army was seen moving towards the lab where Ms. Hepius lives. A message regarding such was sent to Nesreen and then to the church.

**Tuncay: **So… She’s under attack?

**Herwig: **We aren’t sure, but it is possible.

**Polly: **Peaceful mission. That’s what this was supposed to be, but I guess nothing goes according to plan.

**Zelhira: **It’s a good thing we’ve been training this month for our next battle then.

**Callisto: **I mean, I knew the risk was always there, but I didn’t realize we would actually be fighting.

**Florence: **Shouldn’t we just leave now to make sure that we get to her in time?

**Herwig: **We aren’t sure where this army is going. Besides, we aren’t finished preparing yet. You all need to get one final night of sleep before we can set out.

**Hegias: **This is bad… What if she’s in danger? We have to make sure she’s alright.

**Herwig: **And we will. Tomorrow. I know it’ll be hard to sleep tonight because of this, but the archbishop figured it was best if you knew beforehand that we may be getting into a fight.

**Chris: **Gods… This is going to be awful. I have a horrible feeling about this.

**Herwig: **There’s no point panicking right now. Prepare yourselves for tomorrow. A battle awaits.

**Polly: **I understand.

**Herwig: **Go back to your rooms. We can discuss this more in the morning.

_The students all leave the classroom to head back to their dorms. Chris looks to You as she passes._

**Chris: **I… I hope you have a nice night, Professor.

_She leaves as Seraphine appears. You walk back to your room._

**Seraphine: **A last minute fight, huh? We should have seen it coming that something was going to go wrong… For now, we should sleep. We’re no use to anyone if we’re exhausted.

_You agree with Seraphine and return to your room before going to sleep for the night…_

_The next morning, You meet with the students of the Black Eagles and Herwig once more before setting out on your mission._

**Herwig: **Evenor Hepius lives in a lab in the Adrestian Empire. It’s far from any signs of civilization and is near the monastery. We’ll be able to get there by the afternoon.

**Hegias: **Realistically, I know that she’s going to be alright, but I still have an awful feeling about this… She’s a strong fighter. She can handle herself.

**Tuncay: **Take a deep breath, Hedges. You’re going to be fine.

**Hegias: **It’s Hegias… Oh, never mind.

**Zelhira: **If everyone is ready, we should leave.

**Aquillus: **I agree.

**Polly: **I have a bad feeling about this, but there’s nothing we can do about it until we get there.

**Callisto: **In that case, we should take care of business. We’re no help to her if we’re just hanging around here.

**Florence: **Yeah. We’ve been training for this. We’ll be fine. It’s an official battle, the first one for most of us, but we’ll be alright. The professors know what they’re doing.

**Aquillus: **We have all the tools we need to win. All we have to do is put it in motion.

**Tuncay: **My axe is more than ready for this!

**Chris: **Well, in that case… I guess we should go.

**Herwig: **Yes. Let’s go.

_The students all leave, and You follow after them. You hear Chris murmur something on the way out._

**Chris: **Evenor Hepius… I swear I’ve heard that name before…

_When You and the students arrive at your destination, You see it is a small building about to fall apart. The roof is near caving in, and the walls are crumbling. It is dark and dreary, and You aren’t sure about going inside._

**Hegias: **This is her house. I’d recognize it anywhere.

**Herwig: **In that case, let’s get in there.

**Aquillus: **We don’t have a moment to lose.

**Polly: **I wonder why someone would want to attack her… She’s a Crest scholar.

**Tuncay: **I guess some people just want to know more about them. I’ve never thought of them as great, but they’re valuable to someone.

**Chris: **If you ask me, Crests are a bit too valuable… But if our mission is to help someone who believes in them, we’ll do it anyways.

**Zelhira: **We don’t know what’s going on in there, and we don’t have a moment to lose.

**Florence: **In that case, come on! There’s a lot riding on our first mission.

**Callisto: **We won’t fail it. Promise!

_You, Herwig, and the students enter the house. You can see many people in black armor standing around with weapons. The leader, a man with dark hair named Paul, steps forward._

**Paul: **You! What are you doing here?!

**Herwig: **We could ask you the same thing.

**Polly: **We were sent here by the Church of Seiros to speak with Evenor Hepius.

**Paul: **Get lost! It’s none of your business!

**Zelhira: **If you will not let us through, we will have to take care of you in other ways.

**Aquillus: **The choice is yours.

**Paul: **We won’t let you get to her! Get out of here now!

**Tuncay: **You have one last chance to scatter before we’ll take you out ourselves.

**Florence: **Somehow, I don’t think they’ll be willing to surrender so peacefully.

**Callisto: **In that case, we’ll just have to take care of them!

**Paul: **If you want a fight, it’s a fight you’ll get!

**Chris: **Gods, I really didn’t want to fight today…

**Herwig: **We don’t have any other options. Everyone, prepare to fight!

_Before the fight begins, You hear Seraphine’s voice._

**Seraphine: **This is your first life-or-death mission. It wouldn’t do for you or your children to die. I’m going to give you access to the time-reversing power I saved your life with after you first woke up. When someone is forced to retreat, you can use this to reverse recent actions. But be careful. This power has limited charges… Hm, I wonder what we could call something like this… Divine Pulse? That sounds pretty cool. Yes, use your Divine Pulse power to turn back the hands of time to your advantage. Now, go forth!

_The battle begins soon after. You and the students begin fighting through the soldiers coming towards You. You cannot tell where these enemies came from, but it doesn’t look familiar, though that doesn’t surprise You given your memory loss. This faction is peculiar to You, but You cannot think on it long given the circumstances._

_When You defeat a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Seraphine: **Death… I don’t want this to become the norm for us…

_When Chris defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **Oh, I feel sick… There’s so much blood…

_When Polly defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Polly: **I did not think I would be forced into life-or-death so soon…

_When Florence defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Florence: **I-I’ve done mercenary work before, but nothing like this…

_When Zelhira defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Zelhira: **And so the cycle of life and death continues…

_When Hegias defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Hegias: **This is nothing like what I’m used to…

_When Callisto defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Callisto: **I didn’t think I’d be doing this when I came to the Academy…

_When Tuncay defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Tuncay: **Nothing could be done, but… I still feel awful.

_When Aquillus defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Aquillus: **There was no choice, but I can’t help my regret.

_When Herwig defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Herwig: **I don’t think I’ll ever quite get used to this.

_Your party begins to approach Paul after fighting off many of his minor soldiers. The time has come to defeat him and scatter his underlings once and for all._

_If You initiate combat against Paul, this dialogue plays out._

**Paul: **I don’t know who you are or what you want, but I won’t let you get out of this alive!

_If Chris initiates combat against Paul, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **Who are you? What are you doing here?

**Paul: **I could ask you the same thing… Why, don’t you look fancy? You must be the emperor’s kid.

**Chris: **My relations to the emperor are none of your business.

**Paul: **Going through a rebellious phase, huh? Well, I can end that for you right now!

_If Hegias initiates combat against Paul, this dialogue plays out._

**Hegias: **I don’t know what you want with Evenor, but I won’t let you hurt her!

**Paul: **You have no idea what she has here. The information in this building is some of the most valuable in existence.

**Hegias: **It still doesn’t merit harming others!

**Paul: **You have no idea what this woman has done, boy, and you’ll die not knowing!

_If anyone else initiates combat against Paul, this dialogue plays out._

**Paul: **I won’t let any of you lay a hand on those files!

_When Paul is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Paul: **I… I can’t believe this… Lord Bazler…

_After the battle, You stand with the students and their professor. The remaining fighters scatter and run away once their leader is defeated._

**Polly: **I don’t know who these men were, but…

**Zelhira: **Look here. Their leader has a symbol patterned into fabric in their hand. It looks like an emblem.

**Aquillus: **They must be mercenaries. As far as I can tell, they’re Adrestian, and no noble’s soldiers look like this.

**Florence: **That symbol… I feel like I’ve seen it before.

**Chris: **It’s the mark of the Bazler house. It’s a minor house in the Empire. I’m afraid I don’t know much more than that.

**Callisto: **Whoever this Bazler person is, they really wanted something from Ms. Hepius.

**Hegias: **Evenor! Are you here?!

**Tuncay: **For Hedges’ sake, I hope she’s alright…

**Herwig: **We should keep this emblem with us. We should bring it back to the archbishop. I’m sure she’ll be wanting to hear about this.

**Florence: **There’s a door here… It leads underground.

**Callisto: **It’s a trapdoor, too…

**Hegias: **Evenor?

_A woman with pale skin and dark hair rises from the trapdoor. She closes it behind herself before getting to her feet and rising to her full height. You can tell even without her introducing herself that this is Evenor Hepius._

**Hegias: **I’m so glad you’re safe! Evenor!

**Evenor: **Greetings, Hegias… It has been too long.

**Herwig: **Would you mind introducing us, Hegias?

**Hegias: **Of course. This is Evenor Hepius. She’s a Crest scholar and my mentor in fighting.

**Chris: **Um… It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Hepius. I’m--

**Evenor: **I know exactly who you are, young one.

**Chris: **O-Oh, um… I guess that was kind of obvious. My apologies.

**Evenor:** Where is the one I’m meant to be studying?

**Polly: **That would be our professor here.

_You step forward slowly._

**Evenor: **I see… In that case, come with me.

**Hegias: **If you don’t mind my asking, how long have you had that trapdoor there?

**Evenor: **I always figured some would try to steal my research, so I concealed the most important information below.

**Zelhira: **When the attackers came, you went down there as well.

**Evenor: **Exactly. Now, it’s time for us to go down.

_You follow Evenor down the trapdoor, hearing the voices of a few of your students from above as You descend._

**Polly: **I last heard she used to work for the Adrestian royal family, but she left their employ twelve years ago.

**Chris: **I never heard of her… How odd.

**Hegias: **She never spoke about it to me. Maybe we could ask her when she comes back.

**Tuncay: **I’d rather not. She looks like she’d sooner fry us than answer our questions politely.

**Aquillus: **Appearances can be deceiving, Tuncay.

**Florence: **Still, I think I’d rather keep my distance.

**Callisto: **Same here. It’s too risky for my tastes.

**Zelhira: **It won’t hurt to ask.

**Herwig: **For now, all we can do is wait.

_The voices fade away as Evenor leads You deeper underground to a nearby table. The area is lit by a single candle, and many papers are scattered about._

**Evenor: **Here we are. Now, I need you to place your arm out over this circle on the ground.

_You look down and notice a pattern is on the floor. You do as she instructs, waving your arm above the symbol as it begins to glow a dull purple. A symbol appears in the circle._

**Evenor: **I see… This is not what I anticipated, I must say.

**Seraphine: **That doesn’t look like any Crest I saw the students activate… Maybe it really is that Lamine Crest the kids were talking about.

**Evenor: **This Crest was always thought of as a theory, but none could prove it was real… Wave your arm over it again.

_You repeat the motion, but this time, a different symbol appears in the purple light._

**Evenor: **Two Crests…

**Seraphine: **Two Crests?! Is that even possible?!

**Evenor: **Nobody can be born with two Crests, you know. It’s impossible. Any given person can be born with one Crest, and from there, it is theoretically possible to give them a second Crest, though I am not sure if there is any official evidence of such.

**Seraphine: **Then what the hell was that abomination we saw before?!

**Evenor: **The first Crest… That has never been seen before. Some Crest scholars theorize that if a person has many Crests, or even all of them, a different Crest would manifest from the combination of them all.

**Seraphine: **Like… Like a quilt, but with Crests? Sounds impossible to me.

_You shake your head. You do not believe this can happen._

**Evenor: **It’s not possible for there to be an undiscovered Crest. History would have found it by now. Unless, perhaps, you know about your family, and they had this Crest.

_You tell her You do not know your family since you have amnesia._

**Evenor: **Interesting… I must wonder if this Crest is the theoretical Unio then.

**Seraphine: **Unio?

**Evenor: **It’s what scholars have named the potential combination of many Crests. If enough are mixed together, it may create something new. You may have Unio, this peculiar combination.

_You are unsure as to how You should respond to this._

**Evenor: **And yet, you have another Crest. You have Unio and something else… That other Crest is the Crest of Flames. It is considered the rarest Crest, and it has only been seen once in the past hundred years, and its bearer died less than five years after it manifested, though given you are as healthy as can be, that won’t happen to you.

**Seraphine: **So, we have two Crests, which is only theoretically possible, and one of them hasn’t even been proven real? It sounds like this lady is really out of it.

**Evenor: **As impossible as it sounds, I have been working with Crests for many years. If anyone was to figure out the truth, it would be me. I’m afraid you’ll just have to trust me on this, but there is your answer. You bear two Crests, one being Unio and one being the Crest of Flames.

_You thank Evenor and turn to leave, but You are stopped when she speaks to you once more._

**Evenor: **Now, tell me… Do you remember ever meeting me before?

_You think on it briefly before shaking your head._

**Evenor: **What about voices? Do you ever hear voices?

**Seraphine: **How could she possibly know about that?!

_Not wanting to be put at risk for saying so, You shake your head once again, though Evenor seems to be able to tell You are lying._

**Evenor: **I see… You should return to your students. I’ll come to see you off.

_You both climb back up the ladder and back into the main area of the house where your students are waiting for You._

**Herwig: **Well, Professor? How did it go?

_You explain your two Crests to him._

**Polly: **Hm… How odd.

**Hegias: **Two Crests?! Wow!

**Aquillus: **That shouldn’t be possible…

**Zelhira: **It’s food for thought, I suppose.

**Evenor: **Well, you should be returning to the church now, yes?

**Hegias: **You aren’t going to come with us? I was hoping you would.

**Evenor: **I’m afraid I have too much business going on here to come along. My apologies, Hegias.

**Hegias: **It’s alright… In that case, can we ask you a few questions before we go?

**Evenor: **Of course.

**Florence: **We heard you used to work for the Adrestian royal family. Is that true?

**Evenor: **Yes. It was many years ago. Twelve, to be exact.

**Callisto: **What were you even doing?

**Evenor: **I’m afraid that information is classified.

**Chris: **Then… Answer me this. How come I never met you before now?

**Evenor: **That’s a question for you to find the answer to yourself. It’s not my duty to give a reply. Now, out with you.

**Chris: **Alright…

**Hegias: **Evenor, there’s really no reason to be so rude.

**Evenor: **…

**Herwig: **She does have a point. We have a lot to report to the archbishop.

**Callisto: **Lady Aisa will want to hear about the professor’s two Crests.

**Florence: **Plus, we’ll need to explain the mercenary attack.

**Aquillus: **I can’t help but wonder what Lord Bazler could be planning…

**Tuncay: **We won’t find anything out by standing around here though. Come on. Let’s move.

**Polly: **Thank you again for your help, Ms. Hepius… Though you could stand to be a bit nicer to your future emperor.

**Chris: **Polly, it’s fine. I shouldn’t have rubbed her the wrong way.

**Evenor: **I will respect who I want, and it won’t be her.

**Polly: **What was that?

**Evenor: **Oh, nothing…

**Zelhira: **We should depart now. If you ever need anything of the church, I’m sure Lady Aisa will be receptive to your messages.

**Evenor: **I understand. Goodbye.

**Herwig: **May you be blessed by the goddess.

_You, Herwig, and the students leave Evenor’s home behind. You cannot help but wonder about the Crests situation, but Seraphine seems to have something else on her mind._

**Seraphine: **She seemed so nice to everyone else, or at least decent, but she didn’t seem to like Chris for some reason… How odd.

_You shrug, unsure of what the reason could be._

**Seraphine: **In any case, we should tell Lady Aisa about your Crests. Maybe she’ll have some extra information for us on them.

_You nod and follow your students and Herwig back to the monastery, talking briefly along the way._

**Hegias: **I-I just wanted to apologize on behalf of Evenor, Chris… She’s not normally like that.

**Chris: **It’s alright. She’s entitled to her own opinion of me… Though I truly don’t know why she would hate me so. I’ve never met her before.

**Polly: **Either way, I think it’s disrespectful.

**Callisto: **Unio… It doesn’t even seem real.

**Florence: **Well, it seems to me like we’ve seen enough proof it actually exists.

**Zelhira: **The professor using it makes it clear as day.

**Aquillus: **I hope we’ll be able to learn more soon. An artificial Crest… It truly feels like something out of fiction, even if we know it’s real.

**Tuncay: **The archbishop will want to hear about it for sure.

**Herwig: **We’ll explain the full story as soon as we arrive.

**Seraphine: **I really want to know what the bit at the end was about… How did she know you heard my voice? It doesn’t seem like just a lucky guess to me. Also, she asked if you remembered her… I have a bad feeling about her, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. All we can do is see if we encounter her again. She didn’t seem to want to open up, but next time, we’ll get her for sure.

_When You arrive back at the monastery, You go to visit Aisa alone._

**Aisa: **I see your mission was a success. What did you learn?

_You explain that You have two Crests._

**Aisa: **Two Crests… I see.

_You tell her that one of them is the Crest of Flames._

**Aisa: **The Crest of Flames… That has some peculiar implications, I must say…

**Seraphine: **Peculiar implications? Out with it then! We want to know!

_You ask her what she means._

**Aisa: **The Crest of Flames has only been found before in Nemesis, an ancient figure from our continent’s history… The full story is rather complex, and I will explain it to you another day.

**Seraphine: **Only one person? But Evenor said it was in someone else in the past hundred years…

_You point this fact out to Aisa._

**Aisa: **Hm… I never heard about such a person. How strange.

**Seraphine: **Why do I feel like there’s more to it than that?

**Aisa: **What about that other Crest you mentioned?

_You explain Unio and how it is a conglomerate Crest formed from many others._

**Aisa: **Odd… I wonder what this could mean… I have never heard of such a thing. Perhaps I will have to investigate it further.

**Seraphine: **Please do. We want to hear the truth!

**Aisa: **In the meantime, you should return to your students. They are waiting for you.

_You nod and walk out. You return to the Black Eagles homeroom._

**Herwig: **Well, there’s the end of our mission for the month.

**Polly: **I wouldn’t say it went smoothly given the last-minute fight, but I think we did well given the situation.

**Aquillus: **I’m not happy with how things turned out, to be perfectly honest. We shouldn’t have had to fight, and we wound up in battle against Adrestian mercenaries.

**Chris: **Professor, we should tell her about the enemy being mercenaries.

**Herwig: **I’ll do so next time I see her. In the meantime, you all should get some rest.

**Tuncay: **I’m so tired after all that. Fighting really takes it out of you.

**Zelhira: **We have gained more knowledge on the matter of our new professor’s Crests. That’s what matters here.

**Callisto: **Plus, we know that a lord in Adrestian territory is planning on doing something messed up. They wouldn’t send mercenaries to fight us and seize Ms. Hepius if that wasn’t the case.

**Florence: **I bet the monastery will have to start investigating it. They can’t just leave it alone.

**Aquillus: **Maybe we’ll be called in to deal with a corrupt noble soon…

**Tuncay: **I’m not exactly fond of the idea, but we’ll deal with it when it comes.

**Hegias: **I’m just glad that Evenor is safe. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost her.

**Polly: **She could stand to be a bit more polite though…

**Chris: **Polly, I told you, it’s fine. People are allowed to have their own opinions.

**Callisto: **Still, she seemed to hate you a lot despite the fact that you haven’t met before.

**Chris: **I’m sure it was nothing. We should head to bed now. We really don’t need to be discussing this.

**Zelhira: **You hate the spotlight, hm?

**Chris: **You could say that.

**Florence: **I am absolutely wiped after all that. I’m heading to bed.

**Tuncay: **Same here. Night, everyone.

**Aquillus: **Goodnight.

**Callisto: **I am so ready to hit the hay.

**Hegias: **I’ll be able to sleep soundly knowing Evenor is safe…

**Zelhira: **Our first mission was a success…

**Herwig: **We’ll come together again soon. For now, enjoy your time off and get some sleep.

**Polly: **We understand, Professor Wessin.

_The students leave the room followed by Herwig. Chris hangs back for a moment to speak with you._

**Chris: **Um… Today is your last day of the month. I figured I would thank you for your help with that fight. We couldn’t have done it without you… Well, we wouldn’t have even been involved without you since it was your mission… Forget what I said. The point is, thanks.

_You shake your head and tell her it was your pleasure._

**Chris: **I know we Black Eagles aren’t exactly the friendliest of groups, but… We are trying, and we do appreciate all the help you can give. It truly does mean a lot.

**Seraphine: **Wow, isn’t she skittish?

**Chris: **Anyways, I should probably leave you to rest for the night. Sorry to bother you. Goodnight, Professor.

_Chris walks away, and You watch her go._

**Seraphine: **Call me paranoid, but I feel like there’s more to her than meets the eye. You wouldn’t expect a future emperor to be such a disaster. I’d love to learn more about her and the other students… Anyways, we should go to sleep. We have a lot to think about.

_You nod and head to your room._

**Seraphine: **I hope we can learn more about that Crest scholar too… Evenor Hepius… Something about her feels odd to me. She asked if we remembered her, which makes me think that she knew us before we lost our memories… She didn’t show any signs of it around the others though, which is odd. You would expect her to react immediately if she knew you at one point.

_You nod your agreement. It did seem odd._

**Seraphine: **Plus, she asked if you heard voices. Why would she ask something like that if she wasn’t sure? It feels odd, like it came out of nowhere. She knows something. We may not have had much of a chance to ask her today since we had to get back to the monastery, but we’ll get her next time. She’s the key to the truth.

_You agree with Seraphine and lay down on your bed._

**Seraphine: **Well, it’s getting late… Goodnight, Professor. We can talk more another time.

_You close your eyes and hear Seraphine begin to snooze as her ghostly physical form fades away and she reappears in your head. You fall asleep yourself soon after, wondering about the new knowledge You have obtained and what it could possibly all mean… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay uh shoutout to Strega (Hegias' creator) for making Evenor that idea was straight up genius
> 
> -Digital


	13. Chapter Two: The Wandering Scholar I (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You explore the monastery after being given your next mission: to seek out Crest scholar Evenor Hepius.

_You awaken the day after the mock battle to find it is the first day of the Harpstring Moon, the fifth month of the _ _Fódlan calendar. The first full month of your teaching job is about to begin, and You see Seraphine on your way out to see the archbishop._

**Seraphine: **What do you think we’ll be doing this month? It’s not as if we can meet with our students or anything for a mock battle. That’s over. Do you think we’ll have an actual mission? That would be amazing!

_You shake your head, unsure._

**Seraphine: **I guess all we can do is ask the archbishop about it. She’s bound to have a plan for what we should do next, and if she doesn’t know yet, then she’ll be able to tell us when it is figured out.

_You nod your agreement and make your way to the archbishop’s area upstairs. When you arrive, You see Aisa and Roy standing together._

**Aisa: **Good morning, Professor. I hope you slept well.

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I am glad to hear it. I can tell you’re curious about this month’s mission, but I first would like to congratulate you on how well you did in the mock battle. I truly was impressed.

_You thank Aisa for her compliment._

**Aisa: **I am only speaking the truth.

**Roy: **In the battle, we did notice something though… Or rather, Derric told us about something, and we’ve grown rather curious on the matter.

**Aisa: **I’m sure you have heard about Crests by now. They are symbols of power from the goddess, often found in noble houses scattered throughout Fódlan. In this past battle, Derric noticed that you activated a Crest of your own.

_You react with shock._

**Aisa: **He saw this in the first battle as well, but we weren’t able to do much about it due to how soon the mock battle was… However, now, we have all the time in the world.

**Roy: **We have tracked down a famous Crest scholar to help you figure out what Crest you possess. We don’t have any experts on Crests here at the monastery, making it difficult to identify.

**Aisa: **This month, your mission will be to meet with this Crest scholar. She has agreed to help you determine what Crest you have, information you will then relay back to us.

_You cannot help but wonder why You cannot go and meet with this scholar now._

**Aisa: **She is a rather busy woman, I am afraid. She gave us a time to come see her, and she doesn’t like it when people break her schedule. After you pick a house for this month, you will train with them to further their skills, and you will visit the scholar at the end of the moon.

**Roy: **We doubt you’ll need to fight to go and see her, but it’s worth being on your guard. She is something of a peculiar character, and while we believe she’ll tell you what Crest you have without issue, things could easily go wrong. Just in case something happens, we need you all to be ready.

**Aisa: **Now, the time has come for you to select your house for the month. All of the professors are already aware of your mission.

_You think long and hard about your decision, and in the end, You decide to follow the Blue Lions for the month._

**Roy: **You have chosen the Blue Lions?

_You nod._

**Roy: **Good choice. Now, you should return to your house and tell your students you will be with them.

**Aisa: **While the professors are aware of the mission, we didn’t tell any students of what the mission is for this month given how personal it is to you. I’m sure word will spread fast once you tell your given house, but you deserve the right to explain things to your students first.

**Roy: **Good luck, Professor.

_You thank Roy and Aisa and begin walking back to the homeroom of the Blue Lions. Seraphine walks beside you._

**Seraphine: **A Crest scholar, huh? Hm… How strange. I’ve noticed something within you from the start, but I didn’t think it would be related to a Crest… Perhaps we should have noticed sooner.

_You shrug, unsure. It hadn’t come to mind for You either._

**Seraphine: **There’s no point in thinking too much on it now. Let’s talk to your students for now. After that, the day is ours.

_You arrive at the homeroom soon after and see Reese standing with the eight students at the back of the room._

**Reese: **You made your choice of the month… Blue Lions it is then.

**Magnolia:** Greetings, Professor. Good job on the mock battle. I know I’ve said that before, but I really do want you to know it.

**Falon: **Color me impressed for sure!

**Reese: **The mock battle is over now though, meaning it’s time for our first mission.

_You nod and explain the mission. You are to find a Crest scholar and speak with her about what Crest You possess._

**Kyle: **A Crest scholar… Hm, how curious…

**Reese: **Her name is Evenor Hepius. She was once in the employ of the Adrestian royal family, but she left twelve years ago.

**Magnolia: **I never heard about her, though we would have all been young at the time…

**Nora: **I wonder what could have caused her to leave.

**Illona: **I don’t know… It’s not our business though. Maybe we should leave it alone.

**Aestlyn: **Maybe she’ll have some interesting information for us. I mean, I doubt it will be anything special given that she hasn’t been there for twelve years, but…

**Karim: **World’s pretty small, huh?

**Cassia: **I can’t help wonder what Crest you could possibly have, Professor… I haven’t seen it before, at the very least.

**Falon: **As far as I’m aware, we have somebody at the monastery this year with each Crest except for one.

**Cassia: **That is correct. Only the line of Lamine is missing.

**Nora: **If we were to have a Lamine bearer, they would actually be in our house since Lamine is a Faerghus region.

**Illona: **What’s the leader of that house even like? I’ve never met them.

**Cassia:** I met her once. She’s not a pleasant woman. She loathes those without Crests, and if you don’t have one, she will not give you a second glance, nor will she respect you at all.

**Kyle: **Perhaps the professor is from House Lamine then.

**Cassia: **I doubt it. No Crest bearer can escape House Lamine. They’re forced into inheritance no matter what they want.

**Reese: **Regardless, we’ll find out on the last day of the moon. That’s when we’re meeting Evenor Hepius.

**Illona: **I suppose she’s strict on scheduling...

**Magnolia: **I somehow doubt this mission will include fighting since we’re just meeting with a scholar to glean information. Perfect.

**Falon: **I hope so too, but you never know how things will turn out… But here’s to praying the goddess has mercy on us.

**Kyle: **This shouldn’t require any battle. All we need to go in, talk to her, and leave. Easy peasy. It’s only three steps.

**Nora: **I can’t quite describe it, but… I think we’re in for more trouble than expected.

**Karim: **It’s going to be fine. Piece of cake, hands down.

**Nora: **That doesn’t ease my fears… I feel like only going through with the mission will help me relax.

**Illona: **Well, we can’t do anything about it until the end of the month. Why don’t we spend the time in between getting ready for our next fighting mission?

**Reese: **Illona has a point. We’ll work on training this week. Class dismissed.

_The students all walk out of the classroom, Reese following them. You do the same. You cannot help but feel the same way as Nora. You wonder if things are truly as simple as they seem, but You will not know until the end of the month._

**Seraphine: **I can tell you’re worried. It’s going to be fine. Nothing is going to go wrong.

_You nod, but You can hear the uncertainty in Seraphine’s voice. You figure she is nervous because You are, but You choose not to call her out on it. Instead, You return to your room and spend the rest of the day alone._

_That weekend, You wake up and decide to explore the monastery. You leave your room and begin to wander around to speak with the people in the monastery. Just outside your room, in the string of nearby student dorms, You see Florence and decide to approach her._

**Florence: **I can’t help but wonder what Crest you could have… I mean, if it was the same as somebody else’s in the monastery, it would be recognized, but nobody has picked up on it. I must wonder what’s going on here if you do have a different Crest… I don’t know much about the Crest system, nor do I really care to find out about it, but this is really bugging me. I just have to know!

_You walk away from Florence and approach another person in the student dorm area. It is Yuliya, You notice._

**Yuliya: **Going to see a scholar, huh? And one that’s independent from the church? I don’t know what the archbishop is doing, but it’s weird. Normally, she doesn’t ask for help from anyone outside of the church… Be on your guard. Things could easily go wrong here.

_You nod to Yuliya and walk to the edge of the student dorms where the greenhouse is located. You see Zelhira inside, examining the plants._

**Zelhira: **I’ve done some research since hearing about the mission. I don’t think you have the Crest of Lamine. The symbol doesn’t match the one I’ve seen you using. It makes one wonder what Crest you could possibly have instead… Quite the conundrum.

_You leave Zelhira behind and walk to the upstairs dorm area. There is one person up there, and You realize upon getting closer that it is Cassia._

**Cassia: **A Crest scholar… Hm. I’ve heard there are many experiments being done involving Crests these days, though I’m unsure of the details. I wonder if this expert would know how to remove a Crest… That would change our current political climate for sure...

_You nod to Cassia before returning downstairs and going to the fishing hole. You can see someone standing alone at the dock, and upon growing nearer, You see it is Cedric._

**Cedric: **I don’t have much experience with fishing, but it would be nice to learn… I’ve studied a variety of subjects for many years, but fishing has never come up. Do you know how to fish, Professor?

_You tell him You do not._

**Cedric: **Perhaps we can learn together sometime then. It could be a learning experience for us both.

_You agree with Cedric and walk to the marketplace nearby. Tuncay is standing in front of the blacksmith’s stall._

**Tuncay: **Making weapons around here is way harder than back home. I have to actually buy the supplies instead of just borrowing them from the others in my village. Plus, I don’t exactly have easy access to the forge. I have to figure that stuff out on my own.

_You ask if Tuncay needs any help._

**Tuncay: **I’ll be fine. I’ll handle it, no problem.

_You nod to Tuncay and leave the marketplace to head north to the entrance hall. Adrian is standing inside._

**Adrian: **Evenor Hepius… I’ve heard quite a bit about her. She’s famous for her breakthroughs in Crest research. There are few in the field who don’t know her name.

_You ask how Adrian knows of her._

**Adrian: **I heard about her while I was a student here last year. Crests are a mildly interesting subject to me though… Maybe I could ask her a thing or two when we meet, even if it won’t be this week.

_You tell him that would be a good idea before moving onto the next person in the hallway, Adeline._

**Adeline: **A Crest scholar… Hm. I heard Ms. Hepius has been researching potential ways to gift or remove Crests. I haven’t heard the full details, but that is something odd, to be sure. Crests… They can’t be removed or given. That’s what I’ve always heard, but I suppose anything is possible…

_You can sense Adeline would like some time to think, so You leave her and the entrance hall behind to head upwards in the monastery to the next major hall. Inside, You find Falon._

**Falon: **I can’t help but wonder where you come from, Professor. At the end of the day, you are who you are regardless of where you came from, but I can’t help my curiosity. Maybe this Crest scholar will be able to help us find our answers.

_You tell her that You hope so._

**Falon: **Just remember that we’ll care about you no matter what happens. That’s a promise!

_You thank Falon for her kindness and move to the next person in the hall, who happens to be Kaeta._

**Kaeta: **That mock battle went pretty well, or so I heard. Derric seemed impressed at least. I’m glad to see the students are settling in well though. This place can be a bit hard to adjust to at first. Speaking of, if you ever need anything, Professor, all you need to do is call me. You know, unless it’s about talking to that Kyle kid. I can’t even stand to look at him.

_You nod to Kaeta and leave the reception hall to walk to the dining area. Inside of the dining area, You see Nesreen standing alone._

**Nesreen: **I was the one who communicated with this Crest scholar on behalf of the archbishop. In the time we spoke, I learned that she’s a peculiar woman, to say the least. I get the feeling she’s not someone you want to mess around with. I suggest that you take care of your business and then be cautious if you need to stick around.

_You thank Nesreen for her advice and move onto the other person in the dining hall, Wynne._

**Wynne: **I wish some of us knights got to come along with you on this mission, but the archbishop wants us doing other things. It’s nowhere near as interesting as what you’re getting up to. It really is unfortunate, but I’m sure we’ll get our time together someday.

_You agree with Wynne and leave the dining hall to walk north. The courtyard of the Officers Academy has three students in it. The first of them is Kyle, who You approach primarily._

**Kyle: **I hear this Crest scholar is a woman… I wonder if she’d be open to flirtations.

_You shake your head at Kyle._

**Kyle: **What? You never know when you’re going to find that special person. For all I know, they could be anywhere. I might as well start looking. It’s never too soon to begin your search.

_You decide to take Kyle’s word for it as You move onto Sofia, who is standing nearby._

**Sofia: **I tried so hard to get a girl after that mock battle, but I didn’t wind up with a single date, which is a real tragedy. There are a lot of cuties around here… Oh, well. I’m sure I’ll find my lucky someone one of these days, and until then, there’s not much I can do.

_You leave Sofia behind and approach the final student in the Academy’s courtyard, who happens to be Novalee._

**Novalee: **The mock battle wasn’t that long ago, but it feels like ages have passed since then… We’re already moving onto another mission. It’s odd, but not entirely unexpected. The church wants to get things done. Still, it is a jarring shift.

_You agree with Novalee before checking the classrooms. You find Callisto in the Black Eagles classroom._

**Callisto: **You know, I didn’t think we would be hopping into such serious business right off the bat. We’ve only been here three weeks or so at most depending on the different arrival times, and now, we’re going out into the field… Oh, well. I guess nothing can be done about it.

_You leave the Black Eagles classroom and head next door to where the Blue Lions are. Karim is alone inside._

**Karim: **I don’t know what we’re going to be doing after this month’s mission… I’m sure the church will figure out something for us, but I’m still curious. This month doesn’t seem to involve battle, which means next month will be our next experience in a real fight. Man, I can’t tell if I’m more excited or terrified!

_After finishing your conversation with Karim, You go to the Golden Deer homeroom and speak to its only occupant, William._

**William: **You know, I wonder if you’re in a similar situation as me… I didn’t know I had a Crest until many years after I was born. Most people find out at a young age, but I didn’t due to being raised a commoner. It wasn’t until shortly before I came here that the truth found a way out. I figured everybody here would know about their Crests already, but I suppose not… I wish you luck no matter what.

_You thank William and leave the Officers Academy to enter the training hall nearby. Derric and Miriam are inside._

**Miriam: **I have a bad feeling about all of this.

**Derric: **You have no reason to worry. The students can handle this mission. It doesn’t even involve fighting.

**Miriam: **As a knight, you should know by now that not everything goes as expected. Before we know it, everything could change.

**Derric: **I suppose so… But things haven’t changed yet, so we might as well enjoy the peace we have yet. There’s no need to prepare until things seem like they’re going to change greatly, right?

**Miriam: **I suppose… I’ll trust that for now, but the instant anything goes wrong…

**Derric: **I understand.

_You can tell the conversation is tense, so You leave them to it and exit the training hall. You make your way around the monastery before reaching the knights’ hall. Cordelia stands alone inside._

**Cordelia: **The Knights of Seiros are supposed to help the students out on their missions when it is required, but since this mission is meant to be peaceful, none of us are being summoned to come along. It feels odd, just sitting here and twiddling my thumbs, but we’ll get our chance soon enough.

_You agree with her and leave the knights’ hall to go to the stables. Inside, You see Lev standing near a large wyvern._

**Lev: **I-I think I mentioned Travant to you before, yes, Professor? Well… Here he is. Say hi, Travant.

_The wyvern looks at You but doesn’t do much else._

**Lev: **He’s friendly, I promise… Though it does take him a while to warm up to people… I hope he figures out how to make this place home sooner rather than later.

_The other person in the stables is Wolfgang, who You approach next._

**Wolfgang: **Olive loves spending time around here. I think it’s because most of the owls in the monastery make their nests here. It’s easy for her to make friends when all of the other owls are hanging out in a set location. It’s nice to see her around so many others of her kind…

_You leave the stables and head north to the cathedral. On the bridge there, You run into Hegias. If he has been recruited, this dialogue will play out._

**Hegias: **I can’t wait to see Evenor again… It’s been far too long. She helped me get into the Academy to begin with by introducing me to the tournament fighting scene. Without her, I don’t know where I’d be… I owe a lot to her, to say the least.

_If Hegias has not been recruited, this dialogue will play out. Should he be recruited or asked for mission assistance in this chapter, the dialogue will change to the previous choice._

**Hegias: **I wish I could come with you to see Evenor… She’s my mentor of sorts, you see. If it weren’t for her introducing me to tournament fighting, I never would have come here. Without her help, the Academy wouldn’t have given me a second glance… I owe a lot to her, to say the least.

_Either way, You leave Hegias to his thoughts and enter the cathedral. You see three students inside, and You approach the first one, Polly._

**Polly: **Crests are funny things… They can either be thought of as great helps or horrible hindrances. Those who have them benefit from an inherent step up, and they can use that power in awful ways. Meanwhile, those who lack Crests are treated as lesser. It makes you wonder what sort of society we’re living in.

_After walking away from Polly, You approach Nora._

**Nora: **I can’t help but think about what the future holds for us here at the Academy. All I ever heard about was the mock battle and graduation. Everything is a mystery in between. Who knows what will happen in between now and the final day? Anything can change at any moment.

_You leave Nora behind and approach the final student, Aquillus._

**Aquillus: **I really don’t know what to think of all this… I know there’s no battle planned, but it still seems odd. Why would we go on a mission that doesn’t involve combat when we came here to learn how to fight? I have a bad feeling about it, but I suppose there aren’t many options.

_You allow Aquillus to continue on as he had been before going upstairs. In the immediate hallway upstairs, You run into Magnolia and Raithius._

**Magnolia: **You know, it shocks me how many Major Crests we have here at the Academy this year.

**Raithius: **I agree. It’s odd, to say the least.

**Magnolia: **Ah, Professor! It’s good to see you.

**Raithius: **Wait… It just hit me. You probably don’t know the difference between Major and Minor Crests.

_You tell him You do not know._

**Magnolia: **There are many noble bloodlines scattered about the three nations. Most of these high-ranking families bear Crests, or symbols of the goddess’ power.

**Raithius: **They can come in two forms, Major and Minor. Major Crests are stronger but are much harder to come across. Minor Crests, on the other hand, are on the weaker side but are found much more frequently.

**Magnolia: **It feels odd to see so many bearers of Major Crests gathered together… Life acts in odd ways, I suppose.

_You thank the pair for their explanation and begin to head down the hallway at the heart of the upper floor. You enter Reese’s room first._

**Reese: **I wish we had someone who knew a lot about Crests here at the Academy. It seems odd that we don’t have anyone here… I suppose that’s something for Lady Aisa to do in the future. Maybe she wants to hire this Evenor Hepius woman, which would explain the interest… But who can say? This is all merely speculation.

_You leave Reese’s room and enter the Jill’s nearby room._

**Jill: **The mock battle was only a fight to see who was skilled in what areas, but from here on out is when it gets ugly. We have a lot to do with fighting for the rest of the school year, and that means people will get hurt more. It’s a vicious cycle… I’ll never understand it.

_After finishing your conversation with Jill, You approach Herwig._

**Herwig: **I’ve been doing minor research into Crests since coming to the Academy, but I never thought to consider myself an expert. There’s too much for me to learn about while still focusing on my teaching job. Maybe I’ll be able to delve deeper one day, but for now, talking to someone else about it will have to do.

_You leave Herwig’s room and start walking down the hallway to the library. Outside, You run into Rodain and Piers._

**Rodain: **I have to wonder about what the future holds for us… It’s so peaceful. It’s like there’s nothing for us to do.

**Piers: **Enjoy it. We all know this peace isn’t going to last, and when it goes downhill, you’re going to wish you had taken advantage of it more.

**Rodain: **Touchy, aren’t we? But I suppose you have a point. For now, that sounds like a plan.

_You walk away from Rodain and Piers to enter the library. You see Aestlyn inside and decide to approach her._

**Aestlyn: **There are multiple pairs of students at this school that share a Crest. Many generations ago, their houses were once one, but they split off at some point for various reasons. It means the people who now have those Crests are distantly related… It’s odd to look at Adeline and know she shares my Crest. I’m so used to being the only one with it…

_You leave Aestlyn and walk to the other person in the library, Niko._

**Niko: **I love looking around the library, even if it’s my job to keep this place in order. I can’t help it. It’s too interesting to ignore. I wish I could be like the heroes in these books, doing what’s right no matter what… Oh, what a dream.

_You walk away from Niko and leave the library. You walk down the hallway past the main area with the other teachers’ rooms to enter the other area. This is the cardinals’ room. Inside, You can see two people standing together. They are Chris and Illona._

**Chris: **Um… Hey, Illona. I noticed you were kind of lonely when hanging out around the monastery, and I just wanted to make sure you were okay.

**Illona: **I’m alright… I just needed some peace and quiet.

**Chris: **Oh, I see… Do you… Do you want to talk about anything?

**Illona: **Maybe in a little bit… I think I just want to watch the people for now.

**Chris: **Okay…

**Illona: **But, um… Thanks for the offer.

**Chris: **No problem.

_You leave Chris and Illona before heading back to the room where Aisa and Roy are located. You speak with Roy first in his office off the main area._

**Roy: **The archbishop has a lot of faith in your abilities for this mission. I trust you won’t let her down. You have a bright future ahead of you. I can already tell.

_You thank Roy for the compliment before going out to speak with Aisa._

**Aisa: **Evenor Hepius will be the perfect person for you to speak to about your Crest. I cannot help but wonder what could be hiding in your blood… Only she can say, so all we can do until we see her is wait. In the meantime, enjoy your time here at the monastery. We are glad to have you, Professor. If you need anything, just say the word.

_You thank Aisa for her offer before leaving her room behind. You have grown tired, and You wish to go to sleep for the day._

**Seraphine: **I’m exhausted too… We have a big month ahead of us, so we should sleep while we can.

_You head back to your room before falling asleep for the night, ready to start the first official month of your teaching job. Your duties will only grow as the months go on, but You cannot help but be excited despite this… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are getting this chapter a day early since I'm going to be heading out for much of the weekend
> 
> Cool
> 
> -Digital


	14. Chapter Two: The Wandering Scholar II (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Blue Lions set out to rescue Evenor from soldiers dressed in black.

_When the end of the month comes, your house stands together in the Blue Lions homeroom. It is the last day before the mission, and You are having one more meeting before going off to meet with Evenor Hepius._

**Reese: **I have some bad news.

**Nora: **What’s going on?

**Reese: **A force of soldiers in black has moved on Ms. Hepius’ home. Nesreen gave us the message this morning.

**Aestlyn: **In other words, she’s probably under attack.

**Reese: **The possibility is there.

**Illona: **This was supposed to be a peaceful mission! I can’t believe this…

**Cassia: **Thank the goddess we’ve been training for a fight.

**Karim:** There was always a risk, but I didn’t think it would go this far.

**Magnolia:** We should leave now to make sure that everything is okay. We can’t just stand by like this when she could be in danger.

**Reese:** Our preparations aren’t finished yet. We still need time.

**Falon: **She could be in danger. We have to make sure she’s alright.

**Reese: **That’s what we’ll do tomorrow. For now, go and rest. We need to be ready for a potential battle.

**Kyle: **I have a bad feeling about what awaits us tomorrow…

**Reese: **Get ready for now. We could be fighting tomorrow.

**Cassia:** We’ll handle it then. For now, we should rest.

**Reese: **We’ll talk more tomorrow. Class dismissed.

_The students all leave the classroom to head back to their dorms. Magnolia looks to You as she passes._

**Magnolia: **I… I hope you have a nice night, Professor. Goodnight, Professor… Everything will be alright. I know it.

_She leaves as Seraphine appears. You walk back to your room._

**Seraphine: **A last minute fight, huh? We should have seen it coming that something was going to go wrong… For now, we should sleep. We’re no use to anyone if we’re exhausted.

_You agree with Seraphine and return to your room before going to sleep for the night…_

_The next morning, You meet with the students of the Blue Lions and Reese once more before setting out on your mission._

**Reese: **We’re heading into the Empire. The lab where our target lives is far from towns, but it’s near the monastery. We’ll be there this afternoon.

**Aestlyn: **She should be alright, but… I’m worried. What if we don’t get there in time?

**Kyle:** Relax, Aestlyn. It’s all going to be fine. I promise.

**Aestlyn: **Thank you, Kyle… I appreciate it.

**Kyle: **Maybe we could go out together soon. You know, after this is over. I would enjoy that.

**Falon: **Nope, that’s enough of that! It’s time for us to go anyways.

**Nora: **You’re right.

**Karim: **Even if we’re concerned, we can’t do much about it until we arrive. For now, let’s try and relax before the potential battle, okay?

**Illona: **We’re no help if we just stay here… Let’s get it over with.

**Karim: **It’s our first official battle. We’ve been training for this. We can do it!

**Nora: **If we put the proper plan in motion, we should be fine.

**Falon: **The time is now!

**Magnolia: **It’s time to do this!

**Reese: **Come on.

_The students all leave, and You follow after them. You hear Illona murmur something under her breath on the way out._

**Illona: **Evenor Hepius… I… I remember that name…

_When You and the students arrive at your destination, You see it is a small building about to fall apart. The roof is near caving in, and the walls are crumbling. It is dark and dreary, and You aren’t sure about going inside._

**Reese: **This seems to be the place.

**Nora: **Every second is important.

**Aestlyn:** I don’t understand why someone would want to hurt her…

**Falon: **Maybe somebody out there wants the knowledge she has. I don’t know. But we won’t know until we head inside.

**Kyle: **I don’t quite understand either, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out.

**Karim: **Let’s get in there! She’s in danger the longer we hang around out here.

**Illona: **There’s a lot riding on this first mission…

**Cassia: **We’ll handle it. I promise.

_You, Reese, and the students enter the house. You can see many people in black armor standing around with weapons. The leader, a man with dark hair named Paul, steps forward._

**Paul: **You! What are you doing here?!

**Reese: **Who are you?

**Cassia: **We’re here under orders of the Church of Seiros.

**Paul: **Get lost! It’s none of your business!

**Falon: **If you aren’t going to let us through, we’ll have to get out of here by force.

**Aestlyn: **We’re not afraid to fight you!

**Paul: **We won’t let you get to her! Get out of here now!

**Magnolia: **This is your last chance. Surrender now.

**Kyle: **I guess they’ve chosen to fight us…

**Nora: **Fine. They made up their minds.

**Paul: **If you want a fight, it’s a fight you’ll get!

**Illona: **I was hoping we’d get out of here without fighting…

**Reese: **Well, we’ve run out of other options. To battle!

_Before the fight begins, You hear Seraphine’s voice._

**Seraphine: **This is your first life-or-death mission. It wouldn’t do for you or your children to die. I’m going to give you access to the time-reversing power I saved your life with after you first woke up. When someone is forced to retreat, you can use this to reverse recent actions. But be careful. This power has limited charges… Hm, I wonder what we could call something like this… Divine Pulse? That sounds pretty cool. Yes, use your Divine Pulse power to turn back the hands of time to your advantage. Now, go forth!

_The battle begins soon after. You and the students begin fighting through the soldiers coming towards You. You cannot tell where these enemies came from, but it doesn’t look familiar, though that doesn’t surprise You given your memory loss. This faction is peculiar to You, but You cannot think on it long given the circumstances._

_When You defeat a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Seraphine: **Death… I don’t want this to become the norm for us…

_When Magnolia defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **I… I just killed someone! Gods, above… This can’t be real…

_When Nora defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Nora: **Death is a cruel mistress, it seems…

_When Aestlyn defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Aestlyn: **I feel like I’m going to throw up… Please end this soon…

_When Illona defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Illona: **I-I’m sorry it had to be this way…

_When Kyle defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Kyle: **I’m supposed to heal people, not hurt them…

_When Cassia defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Cassia: **Death… I didn’t think it would be like this… So easy to end a life.

_When Karim defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Karim: **I didn’t have an option, but… I can’t help how bad I feel…

_When Falon defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Falon:** There’s so much blood…! I can’t believe I just took the life of another human being!

_When Reese defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Reese: **A battle of life and death so early… Peculiar…

_Your party begins to approach Paul after fighting off many of his minor soldiers. The time has come to defeat him and scatter his underlings once and for all._

_If You initiate combat against Paul, this dialogue plays out._

**Paul: **I don’t know who you are or what you want, but I won’t let you get out of this alive!

_If Magnolia initiates combat against Paul, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **I want to know who you are and why you felt the need to attack this scholar.

**Paul: **Well, well, well… If it isn’t the heir of Faerghus herself.

**Magnolia: **Answer me!

**Paul: **I refuse. Now, let’s end this.

_If anyone else initiates combat against Paul, this dialogue plays out._

**Paul: **I won’t let any of you lay a hand on those files!

_When Paul is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Paul: **I… I can’t believe this… Lord Bazler…

_After the battle, You stand with the students and their professor. The remaining fighters scatter and run away once their leader is defeated._

**Falon: **Who could these men have been?

**Aestlyn: **Look! Their leader has an emblem on some fabric…

**Nora: **Mercenaries… Adrestian mercenaries, at that. They certainly aren’t noble soldiers.

**Cassia: **I’ve seen this symbol before…

**Magnolia: **That’s the mark of House Bazler. It’s an Adrestian noble family’s symbol…

**Illona: **What could they have wanted from Ms. Hepius…?

**Kyle: **I wish I could tell you, but I have no idea.

**Falon: **I hope Ms. Hepius is alright.

**Reese: **We need to keep this emblem as evidence. Lady Aisa will want to see it.

**Karim: **Look! It’s a trapdoor!

**Aestlyn: **I wonder if she’s hiding underground.

**Kyle: **Ms. Hepius?

_A woman with pale skin and dark hair rises from the trapdoor. She closes it behind herself before getting to her feet and rising to her full height. You can tell even without her introducing herself that this is Evenor Hepius._

**Evenor: **You must be the students of the Officers Academy the archbishop told me were coming… I am Evenor Hepius.

**Reese: **It’s a pleasure to meet you.

**Evenor:** Where is the one I’m meant to be studying?

**Karim: **That’s the professor. Go on, step forward.

_You step forward slowly._

**Evenor: **I see… In that case, come with me.

**Nora: **That trapdoor must lead to another room…

**Evenor: **I always figured some would try to steal my research, so I concealed the most important information below.

**Falon: **And you used it as hiding space when those mercenaries showed up.

**Evenor: **Exactly. Now, it’s time for us to go down.

_You follow Evenor down the trapdoor, hearing the voices of a few of your students from above as You descend._

**Karim: **You know, she used to work for the Faixnoye line. I wonder why she left. That has to be good work.

**Magnolia: **I can’t help but wonder as well…

**Kyle: **Perhaps we could bring it up when she returns.

**Cassia: **She seems rather blunt. How do we know she’ll even want to answer?

**Nora: **I doubt she’ll be forthcoming with an answer…

**Aestlyn: **I’d like to keep my distance as well.

**Illona: **I-I’m a bit scared of what she’ll say…

**Falon: **It’s not going to kill anyone if we ask. Why not try it?

**Reese: **Let’s wait for now. We can decide later.

_The voices fade away as Evenor leads You deeper underground to a nearby table. The area is lit by a single candle, and many papers are scattered about._

**Evenor: **Here we are. Now, I need you to place your arm out over this circle on the ground.

_You look down and notice a pattern is on the floor. You do as she instructs, waving your arm above the symbol as it begins to glow a dull purple. A symbol appears in the circle._

**Evenor: **I see… This is not what I anticipated, I must say.

**Seraphine: **That doesn’t look like any Crest I saw the students activate… Maybe it really is that Lamine Crest the kids were talking about.

**Evenor: **This Crest was always thought of as a theory, but none could prove it was real… Wave your arm over it again.

_You repeat the motion, but this time, a different symbol appears in the purple light._

**Evenor: **Two Crests…

**Seraphine: **Two Crests?! Is that even possible?!

**Evenor: **Nobody can be born with two Crests, you know. It’s impossible. Any given person can be born with one Crest, and from there, it is theoretically possible to give them a second Crest, though I am not sure if there is any official evidence of such.

**Seraphine: **Then what the hell was that abomination we saw before?!

**Evenor: **The first Crest… That has never been seen before. Some Crest scholars theorize that if a person has many Crests, or even all of them, a different Crest would manifest from the combination of them all.

**Seraphine: **Like… Like a quilt, but with Crests? Sounds impossible to me.

_You shake your head. You do not believe this can happen._

**Evenor: **It’s not possible for there to be an undiscovered Crest. History would have found it by now. Unless, perhaps, you know about your family, and they had this Crest.

_You tell her You do not know your family since you have amnesia._

**Evenor: **Interesting… I must wonder if this Crest is the theoretical Unio then.

**Seraphine: **Unio?

**Evenor: **It’s what scholars have named the potential combination of many Crests. If enough are mixed together, it may create something new. You may have Unio, this peculiar combination.

_You are unsure as to how You should respond to this._

**Evenor: **And yet, you have another Crest. You have Unio and something else… That other Crest is the Crest of Flames. It is considered the rarest Crest, and it has only been seen once in the past hundred years, and its bearer died less than five years after it manifested, though given you are as healthy as can be, that won’t happen to you.

**Seraphine: **So, we have two Crests, which is only theoretically possible, and one of them hasn’t even been proven real? It sounds like this lady is really out of it.

**Evenor: **As impossible as it sounds, I have been working with Crests for many years. If anyone was to figure out the truth, it would be me. I’m afraid you’ll just have to trust me on this, but there is your answer. You bear two Crests, one being Unio and one being the Crest of Flames.

_You thank Evenor and turn to leave, but You are stopped when she speaks to you once more._

**Evenor: **Now, tell me… Do you remember ever meeting me before?

_You think on it briefly before shaking your head._

**Evenor: **What about voices? Do you ever hear voices?

**Seraphine: **How could she possibly know about that?!

_Not wanting to be put at risk for saying so, You shake your head once again, though Evenor seems to be able to tell You are lying._

**Evenor: **I see… You should return to your students. I’ll come to see you off.

_You both climb back up the ladder and back into the main area of the house where your students are waiting for You._

**Reese: **How was the meeting?

_You explain your two Crests to him._

**Nora: **That’s odd…

**Aestlyn: **Two Crests?!

**Karim: **Is that even possible?!

**Magnolia:** I suppose it is…

**Evenor: **Well, you should be returning to the church now, yes?

**Reese:** You aren’t coming along?

**Evenor: **I’m afraid I have too much business going on here to come along. My apologies.

**Falon: **Can we at least ask you a few questions before we go?

**Evenor: **Of course.

**Nora: **We were told you once worked for the Adrestian royal family. Is that accurate?

**Evenor: **Yes. It was many years ago. Twelve, to be exact.

**Kyle: **What business could you have had with the royals?

**Evenor: **I’m afraid that information is classified.

**Reese: **If that’s all, we should return to the monastery. Lady Aisa has a lot to be told.

**Nora: **I bet she’ll be curious about the professor’s twin Crests.

**Karim: **On top of that, she needs details from the mercenary attack.

**Cassia: **What could Lord Bazler be planning?

**Falon: **We won’t learn anything while we’re standing around. It’s time to get back.

**Illona: **Thanks again for the help.

**Kyle: **If you need something from the church, feel free to send messages. Lady Aisa should be happy to listen given how you helped us today.

**Evenor: **I understand. Goodbye.

**Reese: **May the goddess bless you.

_You, Reese, and the students leave Evenor’s home behind. You cannot help but wonder about the Crests situation, but Seraphine seems to have something else on her mind._

**Seraphine: **Did you see the way she looked at Illona? It was like she recognized her or something…

_You shake your head. You didn’t notice any such thing, though You do not know why Evenor would know Illona, who didn’t seem to know her._

**Seraphine: **In any case, we should tell Lady Aisa about your Crests. Maybe she’ll have some extra information for us on them.

_You nod and follow your students and Reese back to the monastery, talking briefly along the way._

**Kyle: **Is it just me, or was that woman staring at Illona a lot?

**Illona: **Was she staring at me…?

**Karim: **She was definitely staring. I don’t know how you didn’t notice… But I don’t know why that was, so I guess we can drop it. Besides, Illy seems uncomfortable.

**Illona: **Let’s do that…

**Aestlyn: **Let’s talk about Unio then. Isn’t it weird? I didn’t think it was real.

**Nora: **We’ve seen it, so it must be real.

**Cassia:** I never would have expected it to be real…

**Falon: **It’s artificial… It feels like it’s out of a book of some sort.

**Magnolia:** I can bet you that the archbishop will want to hear. It’s pretty important.

**Reese: **We’ll explain the full story as soon as we arrive. She’ll hear it soon enough.

**Seraphine: **I really want to know what the bit at the end was about… How did she know you heard my voice? It doesn’t seem like just a lucky guess to me. Also, she asked if you remembered her… I have a bad feeling about her, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. All we can do is see if we encounter her again. She didn’t seem to want to open up, but next time, we’ll get her for sure.

_When You arrive back at the monastery, You go to visit Aisa alone._

**Aisa: **I see your mission was a success. What did you learn?

_You explain that You have two Crests._

**Aisa: **Two Crests… I see.

_You tell her that one of them is the Crest of Flames._

**Aisa: **The Crest of Flames… That has some peculiar implications, I must say…

**Seraphine: **Peculiar implications? Out with it then! We want to know!

_You ask her what she means._

**Aisa: **The Crest of Flames has only been found before in Nemesis, an ancient figure from our continent’s history… The full story is rather complex, and I will explain it to you another day.

**Seraphine: **Only one person? But Evenor said it was in someone else in the past hundred years…

_You point this fact out to Aisa._

**Aisa: **Hm… I never heard about such a person. How strange.

**Seraphine: **Why do I feel like there’s more to it than that?

**Aisa: **What about that other Crest you mentioned?

_You explain Unio and how it is a conglomerate Crest formed from many others._

**Aisa: **Odd… I wonder what this could mean… I have never heard of such a thing. Perhaps I will have to investigate it further.

**Seraphine: **Please do. We want to hear the truth!

**Aisa: **In the meantime, you should return to your students. They are waiting for you.

_You nod and walk out. You return to the Blue Lions homeroom._

**Reese: **That’s the end of the month then.

**Nora: **It wasn’t perfectly smooth, but we did well despite the sudden fight.

**Cassia: **Adrestian mercenaries were the enemies too… I don’t like that.

**Magnolia: **The archbishop should know about that little detail.

**Reese:** I’ll tell her. For now, you all should rest.

**Karim: **I’m exhausted… Can’t wait to hit the hay.

**Cassia: **We have important information at least. That’s what matters.

**Aestlyn: **On top of that, we have an Adrestian lord getting mad with power and sending mercenaries to attack a scholar. That’s good to know.

**Magnolia: **I bet the monastery is going to begin investigating it soon. Leaving something like that be is dangerous.

**Cassia: **Perhaps we’ll be tasked with taking care of that noble…

**Aestlyn: **I don’t know if I like that idea, but we don’t know for sure now. All we can really do is wait for confirmation to come.

**Falon: **At least we got there in time. It would have been a disaster if we were too late.

**Kyle:** I can’t help but wonder why she was so curious about Illona though…

**Illona: **It’s not a big deal. Can we just… Move on?

**Cassia: **Have you two ever met?

**Illona: **No…

**Karim: **I think we should move past it for now. We have to get to sleep. Class won’t stop for us.

**Illona:** I agree…

**Karim: **I’m exhausted after all that. See you guys later. Time to slam into my pillow.

**Aestlyn: **Night, everybody.

**Kyle: **Goodnight, fair classmates…

**Falon: **See you guys tomorrow.

**Cassia: **I will see you in the morning.

**Nora: **I’ll sleep well knowing our first mission was a success.

**Reese: **Get some sleep now.

**Illona: **Understood… Goodnight.

_The students leave the room followed by Reese. Magnolia hangs back for a moment to speak with you._

**Magnolia: **Thank you again for your help, Professor. I’m glad we were able to help you out with this mission. I know the future is uncertain with how little we know about your Crests, but I’m sure we’ll find out the truth soon. Until then, I hope you have a nice evening. Goodnight.

_Magnolia leaves._

**Seraphine: **She’s rather nice… I wonder what’s going on behind the scenes in her head. She seems rather friendly, not what I would expect from a future queen, someone who needs to be all about business… I wonder why that is… I’d love to learn more about her and the other students… Anyways, we should go to sleep. We have a lot to think about.

_You nod and head to your room._

**Seraphine: **I hope we can learn more about that Crest scholar too… Evenor Hepius… Something about her feels odd to me. She asked if we remembered her, which makes me think that she knew us before we lost our memories… She didn’t show any signs of it around the others though, which is odd. You would expect her to react immediately if she knew you at one point.

_You nod your agreement. It did seem odd._

**Seraphine: **Plus, she asked if you heard voices. Why would she ask something like that if she wasn’t sure? It feels odd, like it came out of nowhere. She knows something. We may not have had much of a chance to ask her today since we had to get back to the monastery, but we’ll get her next time. She’s the key to the truth.

_You agree with Seraphine and lay down on your bed._

**Seraphine: **Well, it’s getting late… Goodnight, Professor. We can talk more another time.

_You close your eyes and hear Seraphine begin to snooze as her ghostly physical form fades away and she reappears in your head. You fall asleep yourself soon after, wondering about the new knowledge You have obtained and what it could possibly all mean… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's the end of chapter two version two
> 
> -Digital


	15. Chapter Two: The Wandering Scholar I (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You explore the monastery after being given your next mission: to seek out Crest scholar Evenor Hepius.

_You awaken the day after the mock battle to find it is the first day of the Harpstring Moon, the fifth month of the _ _Fódlan calendar. The first full month of your teaching job is about to begin, and You see Seraphine on your way out to see the archbishop._

**Seraphine: **What do you think we'll be doing this month? It's not as if we can meet with our students or anything for a mock battle. That's over. Do you think we'll have an actual mission? That would be amazing!

_You shake your head, unsure._

**Seraphine: **I guess all we can do is ask the archbishop about it. She's bound to have a plan for what we should do next, and if she doesn't know yet, then she'll be able to tell us when it is figured out.

_You nod your agreement and make your way to the archbishop's area upstairs. When you arrive, You see Aisa and Roy standing together._

**Aisa: **Good morning, Professor. I hope you slept well.

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I am glad to hear it. I can tell you're curious about this month's mission, but I first would like to congratulate you on how well you did in the mock battle. I truly was impressed.

_You thank Aisa for her compliment._

**Aisa: **I am only speaking the truth.

**Roy: **In the battle, we did notice something though... Or rather, Derric told us about something, and we've grown rather curious on the matter.

**Aisa: **I'm sure you have heard about Crests by now. They are symbols of power from the goddess, often found in noble houses scattered throughout Fódlan. In this past battle, Derric noticed that you activated a Crest of your own.

_You react with shock._

**Aisa: **He saw this in the first battle as well, but we weren't able to do much about it due to how soon the mock battle was... However, now, we have all the time in the world.

**Roy: **We have tracked down a famous Crest scholar to help you figure out what Crest you possess. We don't have any experts on Crests here at the monastery, making it difficult to identify.

**Aisa: **This month, your mission will be to meet with this Crest scholar. She has agreed to help you determine what Crest you have, information you will then relay back to us.

_You cannot help but wonder why You cannot go and meet with this scholar now._

**Aisa: **She is a rather busy woman, I am afraid. She gave us a time to come see her, and she doesn't like it when people break her schedule. After you pick a house for this month, you will train with them to further their skills, and you will visit the scholar at the end of the moon.

**Roy: **We doubt you'll need to fight to go and see her, but it's worth being on your guard. She is something of a peculiar character, and while we believe she'll tell you what Crest you have without issue, things could easily go wrong. Just in case something happens, we need you all to be ready.

**Aisa: **Now, the time has come for you to select your house for the month. All of the professors are already aware of your mission.

_You think long and hard about your decision, and in the end, You decide to follow the Golden Deer for the month._

**Roy: **You have chosen the Golden Deer?

_You nod._

**Roy: **Good choice. Now, you should return to your house and tell your students you will be with them.

**Aisa: **While the professors are aware of the mission, we didn't tell any students of what the mission is for this month given how personal it is to you. I'm sure word will spread fast once you tell your given house, but you deserve the right to explain things to your students first.

**Roy: **Good luck, Professor.

_You thank Roy and Aisa and begin walking back to the homeroom of the Blue Golden Deer. Seraphine walks beside you._

**Seraphine: **A Crest scholar, huh? Hm... How strange. I've noticed something within you from the start, but I didn't think it would be related to a Crest... Perhaps we should have noticed sooner.

_You shrug, unsure. It hadn't come to mind for You either._

**Seraphine: **There's no point in thinking too much on it now. Let's talk to your students for now. After that, the day is ours.

_You arrive at the homeroom soon after and see Jill standing with the eight students at the back of the room._

**Jill: **You sided with the Golden Deer? Good choice. I like you already.

**Raithius:** Hey, Prof! Great job in the mock battle. I can't say enough how great you did.

**Jill: **It was truly very impressive.

**Jill: **However, now that the mock battle is over, it's time for us to talk about our first mission. Professor, go on and explain it.

_You nod and explain the mission. You are to find a Crest scholar and speak with her about what Crest You possess._

**Wolfgang: **A Crest scholar, huh?

**Jill: **Her name is Evenor Hepius. She used to work in the Adrestian Empire, specifically for the royal family. She left the Faixnoye family about twelve years ago, and she lives alone now.

**Raithius: **If she worked for a family that important, you would expect people outside the field to have heard of her, but her name is completely new to me.

**William: **I can't help but be curious about why she would have left. That sounds like a dream job to me.

**Cedric: **I somehow doubt it's for us to learn about though, so perhaps we should leave it be.

**Adeline: **Perhaps she'll have something to tell us about the royals. She hasn't been there for twelve years, but... It would be nice.

**Sofia: **I guess the world is a lot smaller than we realize sometimes.

**Lev: **I wonder what Crest you could have, Professor... I don't recognize it.

**Wolfgang: **I heard we have someone here at the monastery this year with every Crest except for one.

**Cedric: **You're right. We have a bearer of every Crest except for Lamine.

**Cedric: **If we were to have a student with the Crest of Lamine, they would be in the Blue Lions. Lamine is a Faerghus territory.

**Lev:** I wonder what the leader of House Lamine could be like...

**Sofia:** I heard once that she was an unpleasant woman at best. She hates those without Crest and shuns people who she doesn't like.

**Wolfgang: **What if the professor is from House Lamine?

**Cedric: **No way. House Lamine is far too stingy with its Crest bearers. Anybody with a Crest is forced to stay.

**Jill: **No matter what, we'll figure it out on the last day of the month. Our meeting is scheduled then.

**Adeline: **She must be stern on scheduling if she wants appointments made that far out.

**Raithius: **This mission shouldn't have any fighting involved since we're just going to talk to somebody. Sounds like a perfect way to get us in the swing of things.

**Novalee: **I wouldn't be too sure. Something could always go wrong, and in that case, we need to be prepared.

**Sofia: **All we have to do is go in and out. That's easy, right?

**Lev: **Somehow, I get the feeling things aren't going to go well...

**William: **No need to worry. We'll be fine.

**Lev: **I can't help it. My stomach is in a knot right now.

**Sofia: **There's nothing we can do right now though. Let's just try and have a nice month, okay? We can train in the meantime.

**Jill: **I agree with Sofia. Now, we're done here. The rest of the day is yours.

_The students all walk out of the classroom, Jill following them. You do the same. You cannot help but feel the same way as Lev. You wonder if things are truly as simple as they seem, but You will not know until the end of the month._

**Seraphine: **I can tell you're worried. It's going to be fine. Nothing is going to go wrong.

_You nod, but You can hear the uncertainty in Seraphine's voice. You figure she is nervous because You are, but You choose not to call her out on it. Instead, You return to your room and spend the rest of the day alone._

_That weekend, You wake up and decide to explore the monastery. You leave your room and begin to wander around to speak with the people in the monastery. Just outside your room, in the string of nearby student dorms, You see Florence and decide to approach her._

**Florence: **I can't help but wonder what Crest you could have... I mean, if it was the same as somebody else's in the monastery, it would be recognized, but nobody has picked up on it. I must wonder what's going on here if you do have a different Crest... I don't know much about the Crest system, nor do I really care to find out about it, but this is really bugging me. I just have to know!

_You walk away from Florence and approach another person in the student dorm area. It is , You notice._

**Yuliya: **Going to see a scholar, huh? And one that's independent from the church? I don't know what the archbishop is doing, but it's weird. Normally, she doesn't ask for help from anyone outside of the church... Be on your guard. Things could easily go wrong here.

_You nod to Yuliya and walk to the edge of the student dorms where the greenhouse is located. You see Zelhira inside, examining the plants._

**Zelhira: **I've done some research since hearing about the mission. I don't think you have the Crest of Lamine. The symbol doesn't match the one I've seen you using. It makes one wonder what Crest you could possibly have instead... Quite the conundrum.

_You leave Zelhira behind and walk to the upstairs dorm area. There is one person up there, and You realize upon getting closer that it is Cassia._

**Cassia: **A Crest scholar... Hm. I've heard there are many experiments being done involving Crests these days, though I'm unsure of the details. I wonder if this expert would know how to remove a Crest... That would change our current political climate for sure...

_You nod to Cassia before returning downstairs and going to the fishing hole. You can see someone standing alone at the dock, and upon growing nearer, You see it is Cedric._

**Cedric: **I don't have much experience with fishing, but it would be nice to learn... I've studied a variety of subjects for many years, but fishing has never come up. Do you know how to fish, Professor?

_You tell him You do not._

**Cedric: **Perhaps we can learn together sometime then. It could be a learning experience for us both.

_You agree with Cedric and walk to the marketplace nearby. Tuncay is standing in front of the blacksmith's stall._

**Tuncay: **Making weapons around here is way harder than back home. I have to actually buy the supplies instead of just borrowing them from the others in my village. Plus, I don't exactly have easy access to the forge. I have to figure that stuff out on my own.

_You ask if Tuncay needs any help._

**Tuncay: **I'll be fine. I'll handle it, no problem.

_You nod to Tuncay and leave the marketplace to head north to the entrance hall. Adrian is standing inside._

**Adrian: **Evenor Hepius... I've heard quite a bit about her. She's famous for her breakthroughs in Crest research. There are few in the field who don't know her name.

_You ask how Adrian knows of her._

**Adrian: **I heard about her while I was a student here last year. Crests are a mildly interesting subject to me though... Maybe I could ask her a thing or two when we meet, even if it won't be this week.

_You tell him that would be a good idea before moving onto the next person in the hallway, Adeline._

**Adeline: **A Crest scholar... Hm. I heard Ms. Hepius has been researching potential ways to gift or remove Crests. I haven't heard the full details, but that is something odd, to be sure. Crests... They can't be removed or given. That's what I've always heard, but I suppose anything is possible...

_You can sense Adeline would like some time to think, so You leave her and the entrance hall behind to head upwards in the monastery to the next major hall. Inside, You find Falon._

**Falon: **I can't help but wonder where you come from, Professor. At the end of the day, you are who you are regardless of where you came from, but I can't help my curiosity. Maybe this Crest scholar will be able to help us find our answers.

_You tell her that You hope so._

**Falon: **Just remember that we'll care about you no matter what happens. That's a promise!

_You thank Falon for her kindness and move to the next person in the hall, who happens to be Kaeta._

**Kaeta: **That mock battle went pretty well, or so I heard. Derric seemed impressed at least. I'm glad to see the students are settling in well though. This place can be a bit hard to adjust to at first. Speaking of, if you ever need anything, Professor, all you need to do is call me. You know, unless it's about talking to that Kyle kid. I can't even stand to look at him.

_You nod to Kaeta and leave the reception hall to walk to the dining area. Inside of the dining area, You see Nesreen standing alone._

**Nesreen: **I was the one who communicated with this Crest scholar on behalf of the archbishop. In the time we spoke, I learned that she's a peculiar woman, to say the least. I get the feeling she's not someone you want to mess around with. I suggest that you take care of your business and then be cautious if you need to stick around.

_You thank Nesreen for her advice and move onto the other person in the dining hall, Wynne._

**Wynne: **I wish some of us knights got to come along with you on this mission, but the archbishop wants us doing other things. It's nowhere near as interesting as what you're getting up to. It really is unfortunate, but I'm sure we'll get our time together someday.

_You agree with Wynne and leave the dining hall to walk north. The courtyard of the Officers Academy has three students in it. The first of them is Kyle, who You approach primarily._

**Kyle: **I hear this Crest scholar is a woman... I wonder if she'd be open to flirtations.

_You shake your head at Kyle._

**Kyle: **What? You never know when you're going to find that special person. For all I know, they could be anywhere. I might as well start looking. It's never too soon to begin your search.

_You decide to take Kyle's word for it as You move onto Sofia, who is standing nearby._

**Sofia: **I tried so hard to get a girl after that mock battle, but I didn't wind up with a single date, which is a real tragedy. There are a lot of cuties around here... Oh, well. I'm sure I'll find my lucky someone one of these days, and until then, there's not much I can do.

_You leave Sofia behind and approach the final student in the Academy's courtyard, who happens to be Novalee._

**Novalee: **The mock battle wasn't that long ago, but it feels like ages have passed since then... We're already moving onto another mission. It's odd, but not entirely unexpected. The church wants to get things done. Still, it is a jarring shift.

_You agree with Novalee before checking the classrooms. You find Callisto in the Black Eagles classroom._

**Callisto: **You know, I didn't think we would be hopping into such serious business right off the bat. We've only been here three weeks or so at most depending on the different arrival times, and now, we're going out into the field... Oh, well. I guess nothing can be done about it.

_You leave the Black Eagles classroom and head next door to where the Blue Lions are. Karim is alone inside._

**Karim: **I don't know what we're going to be doing after this month's mission... I'm sure the church will figure out something for us, but I'm still curious. This month doesn't seem to involve battle, which means next month will be our next experience in a real fight. Man, I can't tell if I'm more excited or terrified!

_After finishing your conversation with Karim, You go to the Golden Deer homeroom and speak to its only occupant, William._

**William: **You know, I wonder if you're in a similar situation as me... I didn't know I had a Crest until many years after I was born. Most people find out at a young age, but I didn't due to being raised a commoner. It wasn't until shortly before I came here that the truth found a way out. I figured everybody here would know about their Crests already, but I suppose not... I wish you luck no matter what.

_You thank William and leave the Officers Academy to enter the training hall nearby. Derric and Miriam are inside._

**Miriam: **I have a bad feeling about all of this.

**Derric: **You have no reason to worry. The students can handle this mission. It doesn't even involve fighting.

**Miriam: **As a knight, you should know by now that not everything goes as expected. Before we know it, everything could change.

**Derric: **I suppose so... But things haven't changed yet, so we might as well enjoy the peace we have yet. There's no need to prepare until things seem like they're going to change greatly, right?

**Miriam: **I suppose... I'll trust that for now, but the instant anything goes wrong...

**Derric: **I understand.

_You can tell the conversation is tense, so You leave them to it and exit the training hall. You make your way around the monastery before reaching the knights' hall. Cordelia stands alone inside._

**Cordelia: **The Knights of Seiros are supposed to help the students out on their missions when it is required, but since this mission is meant to be peaceful, none of us are being summoned to come along. It feels odd, just sitting here and twiddling my thumbs, but we'll get our chance soon enough.

_You agree with her and leave the knights' hall to go to the stables. Inside, You see Lev standing near a large wyvern._

**Lev: **I-I think I mentioned Travant to you before, yes, Professor? Well... Here he is. Say hi, Travant.

_The wyvern looks at You but doesn't do much else._

**Lev: **He's friendly, I promise... Though it does take him a while to warm up to people... I hope he figures out how to make this place home sooner rather than later.

_The other person in the stables is Wolfgang, who You approach next._

**Wolfgang: **Olive loves spending time around here. I think it's because most of the owls in the monastery make their nests here. It's easy for her to make friends when all of the other owls are hanging out in a set location. It's nice to see her around so many others of her kind...

_You leave the stables and head north to the cathedral. On the bridge there, You run into Hegias. If he has been recruited, this dialogue will play out._

**Hegias: **I can't wait to see Evenor again... It's been far too long. She helped me get into the Academy to begin with by introducing me to the tournament fighting scene. Without her, I don't know where I'd be... I owe a lot to her, to say the least.

_If Hegias has not been recruited, this dialogue will play out. Should he be recruited or asked for mission assistance in this chapter, the dialogue will change to the previous choice._

**Hegias: **I wish I could come with you to see Evenor... She's my mentor of sorts, you see. If it weren't for her introducing me to tournament fighting, I never would have come here. Without her help, the Academy wouldn't have given me a second glance... I owe a lot to her, to say the least.

_Either way, You leave Hegias to his thoughts and enter the cathedral. You see three students inside, and You approach the first one, Polly._

**Polly: **Crests are funny things... They can either be thought of as great helps or horrible hindrances. Those who have them benefit from an inherent step up, and they can use that power in awful ways. Meanwhile, those who lack Crests are treated as lesser. It makes you wonder what sort of society we're living in.

_After walking away from Polly, You approach Nora._

**Nora: **I can't help but think about what the future holds for us here at the Academy. All I ever heard about was the mock battle and graduation. Everything is a mystery in between. Who knows what will happen in between now and the final day? Anything can change at any moment.

_You leave Nora behind and approach the final student, Aquillus._

**Aquillus: **I really don't know what to think of all this... I know there's no battle planned, but it still seems odd. Why would we go on a mission that doesn't involve combat when we came here to learn how to fight? I have a bad feeling about it, but I suppose there aren't many options.

_You allow Aquillus to continue on as he had been before going upstairs. In the immediate hallway upstairs, You run into Magnolia and Raithius._

**Magnolia: **You know, it shocks me how many Major Crests we have here at the Academy this year.

**Raithius: **I agree. It's odd, to say the least.

**Magnolia: **Ah, Professor! It's good to see you.

**Raithius: **Wait... It just hit me. You probably don't know the difference between Major and Minor Crests.

_You tell him You do not know._

**Magnolia: **There are many noble bloodlines scattered about the three nations. Most of these high-ranking families bear Crests, or symbols of the goddess' power.

**Raithius: **They can come in two forms, Major and Minor. Major Crests are stronger but are much harder to come across. Minor Crests, on the other hand, are on the weaker side but are found much more frequently.

**Magnolia: **It feels odd to see so many bearers of Major Crests gathered together... Life acts in odd ways, I suppose.

_You thank the pair for their explanation and begin to head down the hallway at the heart of the upper floor. You enter Reese's room first._

**Reese: **I wish we had someone who knew a lot about Crests here at the Academy. It seems odd that we don't have anyone here... I suppose that's something for Lady Aisa to do in the future. Maybe she wants to hire this Evenor Hepius woman, which would explain the interest... But who can say? This is all merely speculation.

_You leave Reese's room and enter the Jill's nearby room._

**Jill: **The mock battle was only a fight to see who was skilled in what areas, but from here on out is when it gets ugly. We have a lot to do with fighting for the rest of the school year, and that means people will get hurt more. It's a vicious cycle... I'll never understand it.

_After finishing your conversation with Jill, You approach Herwig._

**Herwig: **I've been doing minor research into Crests since coming to the Academy, but I never thought to consider myself an expert. There's too much for me to learn about while still focusing on my teaching job. Maybe I'll be able to delve deeper one day, but for now, talking to someone else about it will have to do.

_You leave Herwig's room and start walking down the hallway to the library. Outside, You run into Rodain and Piers._

**Rodain: **I have to wonder about what the future holds for us... It's so peaceful. It's like there's nothing for us to do.

**Piers: **Enjoy it. We all know this peace isn't going to last, and when it goes downhill, you're going to wish you had taken advantage of it more.

**Rodain: **Touchy, aren't we? But I suppose you have a point. For now, that sounds like a plan.

_You walk away from Rodain and Piers to enter the library. You see Aestlyn inside and decide to approach her._

**Aestlyn: **There are multiple pairs of students at this school that share a Crest. Many generations ago, their houses were once one, but they split off at some point for various reasons. It means the people who now have those Crests are distantly related... It's odd to look at Adeline and know she shares my Crest. I'm so used to being the only one with it...

_You leave Aestlyn and walk to the other person in the library, Niko._

**Niko: **I love looking around the library, even if it's my job to keep this place in order. I can't help it. It's too interesting to ignore. I wish I could be like the heroes in these books, doing what's right no matter what... Oh, what a dream.

_You walk away from Niko and leave the library. You walk down the hallway past the main area with the other teachers' rooms to enter the other area. This is the cardinals' room. Inside, You can see two people standing together. They are Chris and Illona._

**Chris: **Um... Hey, Illona. I noticed you were kind of lonely when hanging out around the monastery, and I just wanted to make sure you were okay.

**Illona: **I'm alright... I just needed some peace and quiet.

**Chris: **Oh, I see... Do you... Do you want to talk about anything?

**Illona: **Maybe in a little bit... I think I just want to watch the people for now.

**Chris: **Okay...

**Illona: **But, um... Thanks for the offer.

**Chris: **No problem.

_You leave Chris and Illona before heading back to the room where Aisa and Roy are located. You speak with Roy first in his office off the main area._

**Roy: **The archbishop has a lot of faith in your abilities for this mission. I trust you won't let her down. You have a bright future ahead of you. I can already tell.

_You thank Roy for the compliment before going out to speak with Aisa._

**Aisa: **Evenor Hepius will be the perfect person for you to speak to about your Crest. I cannot help but wonder what could be hiding in your blood... Only she can say, so all we can do until we see her is wait. In the meantime, enjoy your time here at the monastery. We are glad to have you, Professor. If you need anything, just say the word.

_You thank Aisa for her offer before leaving her room behind. You have grown tired, and You wish to go to sleep for the day._

**Seraphine: **I'm exhausted too... We have a big month ahead of us, so we should sleep while we can.

_You head back to your room before falling asleep for the night, ready to start the first official month of your teaching job. Your duties will only grow as the months go on, but You cannot help but be excited despite this... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is coming super late since I forgot oops
> 
> -Digital


	16. Chapter Two: The Wandering Scholar II (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Golden Deer set out to rescue Evenor from soldiers dressed in black.

_When the end of the month comes, your house stands together in the Golden Deer homeroom. It is the last day before the mission, and You are having one more meeting before going off to meet with Evenor Hepius._

**Jill:** I'm afraid I have received news about the mission, and it's not good.

**Cedric: **What happened? Is everything okay?

**Jill: **I'm afraid not. A small faction of fighters in black armor has appeared and is advancing on Ms. Hepius' home. Nesreen relayed the information earlier today.

**William: **So... You think she's under attack?

**Jill: **It's very possible, and there are no guarantees right now.

**Lev: **This mission was supposed to be peaceful... Of course it didn't work out...

**Novalee: **I'm just glad we've been preparing for a battle.

**Adeline:** I mean, we always knew there was a chance this would happen, but...

**Raithius:** Perhaps we should set out now. She could easily be hurt in between now and when we arrive tomorrow.

**Jill:** We haven't finished preparing. If we left now, we'd only be putting ourselves at risk, and we wouldn't be able to help her.

**Wolfgang: **But what if she's in danger?

**Jill: **Right now, we need you all on top of your game, so you need to rest.

**Lev: **I have a bad feeling about all of this...

**Jill: **For now, get some sleep. We'll deal with tomorrow when it comes.

**Sofia:** We'll be able to take care of it. I know it.

**Jill: **We'll talk about full details tomorrow. For now, class is dismissed.

_The students all leave the classroom to head back to their dorms. Raithius looks to You as she passes._

**Raithius: **Goodnight, Professor. Don't worry too much. We'll be okay. Nothing will go horribly wrong on my watch.

_He leaves as Seraphine appears. You walk back to your room._

**Seraphine: **A last minute fight, huh? We should have seen it coming that something was going to go wrong... For now, we should sleep. We're no use to anyone if we're exhausted.

_You agree with Seraphine and return to your room before going to sleep for the night..._

_The next morning, You meet with the students of the Golden Deer and Jill once more before setting out on your mission._

**Jill: **Our destination is the Empire. Ms. Hepius lives away from the nearby villages, but it's still close enough to Garreg Mach that we'll be arriving this afternoon.

**Adeline: **I know she'll probably be okay, but I can't help my concern. What if we're too late?

**Sofia:** I know we'll be okay. Worrying won't help anyone. Take a deep breath.

**Adeline: **Thank you for the assurance, Sofia. I needed that.

**Sofia: **It's my pleasure. I just wanted to make you feel better.

**William: **If we're all ready, it's time for us to set out.

**Cedric: **You make a good point.

**Wolfgang: **Worrying won't do us any good. We'll take care of things when we get there. Until then, we should do our best to focus on the business aspect.

**Novalee: **Ms. Hepius is waiting for us.

**William: **We've been preparing for this. We've got it in the bag.

**Lev:** I hope we're ready... We don't know how strong this army is...

**Wolfgang: **We have this all under control.

**Raithius: **Then let's do it! I believe in us!

**Raithius: **Off we go.

_The students all leave, and You follow after them._

_When You and the students arrive at your destination, You see it is a small building about to fall apart. The roof is near caving in, and the walls are crumbling. It is dark and dreary, and You aren't sure about going inside._

**Jill: **I think this is the right place.

**Lev: **There's no time to be standing around out here...

**Adeline:** I can't help but wonder why someone would want to hurt a person like this...

**Novalee: **Perhaps someone wants her knowledge regarding Crests. The possibility is there... However, we won't find the truth by standing around out here.

**Sofia: **I'm sure we'll get the answers we seek.

**Cedric: **There's not a moment to lose!

**William: **A lot is riding on this. We can't afford to fail.

**Raithius: **We'll take care of things. Don't worry.

_You, Jill, and the students enter the house. You can see many people in black armor standing around with weapons. The leader, a man with dark hair named Paul, steps forward._

**Paul: **You! What are you doing here?!

**Jill:** Who would you be, kind sir?

**Cedric: **We were sent by the Church of Seiros to investigate what your party is doing in this territory.

**Paul: **Get lost! It's none of your business!

**William:** If you won't let us past, then we'll just have to push you out of the way.

**Adeline: **Don't mistake us for pushovers.

**Paul: **We won't let you get to her! Get out of here now!

**Raithius:** I'm giving you a final chance here. Surrender or face the consequences.

**Lev:** I don't think they're going to compromise after all...

**Novalee: **They made their choice. They'll have to deal with it.

**Paul: **If you want a fight, it's a fight you'll get!

**Wolfgang: **I guess peace is off the table.

**Jill: **If it's a fight they want, it's a fight they'll get!

_Before the fight begins, You hear Seraphine's voice._

**Seraphine: **This is your first life-or-death mission. It wouldn't do for you or your children to die. I'm going to give you access to the time-reversing power I saved your life with after you first woke up. When someone is forced to retreat, you can use this to reverse recent actions. But be careful. This power has limited charges... Hm, I wonder what we could call something like this... Divine Pulse? That sounds pretty cool. Yes, use your Divine Pulse power to turn back the hands of time to your advantage. Now, go forth!

_The battle begins soon after. You and the students begin fighting through the soldiers coming towards You. You cannot tell where these enemies came from, but it doesn't look familiar, though that doesn't surprise You given your memory loss. This faction is peculiar to You, but You cannot think on it long given the circumstances._

_When You defeat a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Seraphine: **Death... I don't want this to become the norm for us...

_When Raithius defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius:** I... I really just did that...? Oh, gods...

_When Novalee defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Novalee: **Death... What a horrible thing to face so soon...

_When Adeline defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Adeline: **Theater always made it look so simple... But if it's really so simple, why am I so sick all of a sudden...?

_When Sofia defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Sofia:** There's blood everywhere... Yuck... I already hate this.

_When William defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**William: **I don't like this one bit... This is too much.

_When Cedric defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Cedric: **Is it truly noble to do something like this? I somehow doubt it.

_When Lev defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Lev: **This is too much for me! Please, make it stop!

_When Wolfgang defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Wolfgang:** I thought I would be used to death by now, but... I'm not...

_When Jill defeats a foe, this dialogue plays out._

**Jill: **This happens every year, but I hate it each time still...

_Your party begins to approach Paul after fighting off many of his minor soldiers. The time has come to defeat him and scatter his underlings once and for all._

_If You initiate combat against Paul, this dialogue plays out._

**Paul: **I don't know who you are or what you want, but I won't let you get out of this alive!

_If Raithius initiates combat against Paul, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **Who are you? You're clearly the commander of this army. I want to know why you decided to attack a Crest scholar too.

**Paul: **Well, well, well... If it isn't the heir of Leicester himself.

**Raithius: **Answer the damn question, dastard.

**Paul: **I refuse. Now, let's end this.

_If anyone else initiates combat against Paul, this dialogue plays out._

**Paul: **I won't let any of you lay a hand on those files!

_When Paul is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Paul: **I... I can't believe this... Lord Bazler...

_After the battle, You stand with the students and their professor. The remaining fighters scatter and run away once their leader is defeated._

**Novalee: **I wonder who these soldiers were...

**Adeline: **The leader of the group has something sewn into a piece of fabric. It's an emblem...

**Lev: **They're from Adrestia. As far as I can tell, they're mercenaries... I've never seen noble soldiers like this.

**Cedric: **I think I recognize this symbol, as a matter of fact...

**Raithius: **House Bazler, I think... That's a minor Adrestian noble house.

**Sofia: **I can't help but wonder what they could have wanted from a Crest scholar. It seems odd to me that mercenaries would go after her.

**William: **I wish I could give you an answer, but I have nothing.

**Wolfgang:** I just hope Ms. Hepius is safe after all that.

**Jill: **I'm going to keep this emblem with us until we go back to the monastery. I have a feeling Lady Aisa will want it as evidence against Lord Bazler.

**Wolfgang: **Wait... Is that a trapdoor?

**Adeline: **What if she's hiding underground?

**Sofia: **Ms. Hepius? Are you down there?

_A woman with pale skin and dark hair rises from the trapdoor. She closes it behind herself before getting to her feet and rising to her full height. You can tell even without her introducing herself that this is Evenor Hepius._

**Evenor: **You must be the students of the Officers Academy the archbishop told me were coming... I am Evenor Hepius.

**Jill: **It's nice to meet you, Ms. Hepius.

**Evenor:** Where is the one I'm meant to be studying?

**William: **That would be our professor here.

_You step forward slowly._

**Evenor: **I see... In that case, come with me.

**Sofia: **I bet that trapdoor takes people to a secret room.

**Evenor: **I always figured some would try to steal my research, so I concealed the most important information below.

**Novalee:** It turned out to be a good hiding place for when the mercenaries appeared as well.

**Evenor: **Exactly. Now, it's time for us to go down.

_You follow Evenor down the trapdoor, hearing the voices of a few of your students from above as You descend._

**William: **She used to work with the Faixnoye family. I can't help but wonder why somebody would leave that. It must pay rather well.

**Raithius: **I'm a bit curious as well.

**Cedric: **We could ask her about it when she comes back.

**Lev: **I get the feeling she won't want to answer such a personal question.

**Wolfgang: **It might cross a line.

**Adeline: **I don't think I'd want to answer that sort of question myself.

**Sofia: **Who even knows what she'll say?

**Sofia: **Why not try it?

**Jill: **All we can do for the time being is wait.

_The voices fade away as Evenor leads You deeper underground to a nearby table. The area is lit by a single candle, and many papers are scattered about._

**Evenor: **Here we are. Now, I need you to place your arm out over this circle on the ground.

_You look down and notice a pattern is on the floor. You do as she instructs, waving your arm above the symbol as it begins to glow a dull purple. A symbol appears in the circle._

**Evenor: **I see... This is not what I anticipated, I must say.

**Seraphine: **That doesn't look like any Crest I saw the students activate... Maybe it really is that Lamine Crest the kids were talking about.

**Evenor: **This Crest was always thought of as a theory, but none could prove it was real... Wave your arm over it again.

_You repeat the motion, but this time, a different symbol appears in the purple light._

**Evenor: **Two Crests...

**Seraphine: **Two Crests?! Is that even possible?!

**Evenor: **Nobody can be born with two Crests, you know. It's impossible. Any given person can be born with one Crest, and from there, it is theoretically possible to give them a second Crest, though I am not sure if there is any official evidence of such.

**Seraphine: **Then what the hell was that abomination we saw before?!

**Evenor: **The first Crest... That has never been seen before. Some Crest scholars theorize that if a person has many Crests, or even all of them, a different Crest would manifest from the combination of them all.

**Seraphine: **Like... Like a quilt, but with Crests? Sounds impossible to me.

_You shake your head. You do not believe this can happen._

**Evenor: **It's not possible for there to be an undiscovered Crest. History would have found it by now. Unless, perhaps, you know about your family, and they had this Crest.

_You tell her You do not know your family since you have amnesia._

**Evenor: **Interesting... I must wonder if this Crest is the theoretical Unio then.

**Seraphine: **Unio?

**Evenor: **It's what scholars have named the potential combination of many Crests. If enough are mixed together, it may create something new. You may have Unio, this peculiar combination.

_You are unsure as to how You should respond to this._

**Evenor: **And yet, you have another Crest. You have Unio and something else... That other Crest is the Crest of Flames. It is considered the rarest Crest, and it has only been seen once in the past hundred years, and its bearer died less than five years after it manifested, though given you are as healthy as can be, that won't happen to you.

**Seraphine: **So, we have two Crests, which is only theoretically possible, and one of them hasn't even been proven real? It sounds like this lady is really out of it.

**Evenor: **As impossible as it sounds, I have been working with Crests for many years. If anyone was to figure out the truth, it would be me. I'm afraid you'll just have to trust me on this, but there is your answer. You bear two Crests, one being Unio and one being the Crest of Flames.

_You thank Evenor and turn to leave, but You are stopped when she speaks to you once more._

**Evenor: **Now, tell me... Do you remember ever meeting me before?

_You think on it briefly before shaking your head._

**Evenor: **What about voices? Do you ever hear voices?

**Seraphine: **How could she possibly know about that?!

_Not wanting to be put at risk for saying so, You shake your head once again, though Evenor seems to be able to tell You are lying._

**Evenor: **I see... You should return to your students. I'll come to see you off.

_You both climb back up the ladder and back into the main area of the house where your students are waiting for You._

**Jill: **How did it go?

_You explain your two Crests to her._

**Lev: **That's... Wow...

**Adeline: **You have two Crests?!

**William: **I didn't even know that could happen...

**Raithius:** Well, I guess it can.

**Evenor: **Well, you should be returning to the church now, yes?

**Jill:** You won't be coming with us?

**Evenor: **I'm afraid I have too much business going on here to come along. My apologies.

**Novalee: **In that case, can we ask a few questions before we set out once again?

**Evenor: **Of course.

**Cedric: **We heard a rumor that you used to work with the Faixnoye family.

**Evenor: **Yes. It was many years ago. Twelve, to be exact.

**Wolfgang: **What were you even doing with them?

**Evenor: **I'm afraid that information is classified.

**Jill: **I believe that's all we have to know. It's time for us to go back to the monastery anyways.

**Lev: **I get the feeling she'll want to know about the professor having two Crests.

**Sofia: **She'll need to hear about the mercenaries too.

**Wolfgang: **Lord Bazler... I wonder what he's planning on doing.

**Novalee: **We aren't going to gain any information standing around like this. The monastery officials will be expecting us.

**Lev:** Thank you, Ms. Hepius...

**William: **I'm sure you'd be alright to request help from the church. I'm sure Lady Aisa will be receptive given what you did for us today.

**Evenor: **I understand. Goodbye.

**Jill: **Have a nice day.

_You, Jill, and the students leave Evenor's home behind. You cannot help but wonder about the Crests situation, and Seraphine seems to have the same thing on her mind._

**Seraphine: **We should tell Lady Aisa about your Crests. Maybe she'll have some extra information for us on them.

_You nod and follow your students and Jill back to the monastery, talking briefly along the way._

**Adeline: **Unio... It's odd to think that's a real thing.

**Novalee: **In any other situation, I would be skeptical, but we've seen proof of it being real through the professor.

**Cedric:** It's not something you would expect to hear about.

**Sofia: **An artificial Crest... How odd to think of.

**William: **I can't help but wonder what mysteries it holds.

**Lev: **I hope it's nothing bad...

**Wolfgang: **We won't know until the time comes for us to find out.

**Raithius:** Lady Aisa is going to want to hear all of this for sure. It's a lot more important than the information I expected us to get.

**Jill: **We'll tell her everything once we arrive back at the monastery.

**Seraphine: **I really want to know what the bit at the end was about... How did she know you heard my voice? It doesn't seem like just a lucky guess to me. Also, she asked if you remembered her... I have a bad feeling about her, but there's nothing we can do about it now. All we can do is see if we encounter her again. She didn't seem to want to open up, but next time, we'll get her for sure.

_When You arrive back at the monastery, You go to visit Aisa alone._

**Aisa: **I see your mission was a success. What did you learn?

_You explain that You have two Crests._

**Aisa: **Two Crests... I see.

_You tell her that one of them is the Crest of Flames._

**Aisa: **The Crest of Flames... That has some peculiar implications, I must say...

**Seraphine: **Peculiar implications? Out with it then! We want to know!

_You ask her what she means._

**Aisa: **The Crest of Flames has only been found before in Nemesis, an ancient figure from our continent's history... The full story is rather complex, and I will explain it to you another day.

**Seraphine: **Only one person? But Evenor said it was in someone else in the past hundred years... 

_You point this fact out to Aisa._

**Aisa: **Hm... I never heard about such a person. How strange.

**Seraphine: **Why do I feel like there's more to it than that?

**Aisa: **What about that other Crest you mentioned?

_You explain Unio and how it is a conglomerate Crest formed from many others._

**Aisa: **Odd... I wonder what this could mean... I have never heard of such a thing. Perhaps I will have to investigate it further.

**Seraphine: **Please do. We want to hear the truth!

**Aisa: **In the meantime, you should return to your students. They are waiting for you.

_You nod and walk out. You return to the Golden Deer homeroom._

**Jill: **And with that, we're finished for the month.

**Novalee: **This moon wasn't anywhere near perfect, but we got by.

**Cedric: **We had to fight Adrestian mercenaries... I have a bad feeling about that part in particular.

**Raithius: **We should tell the archbishop about that.

**Jill:** I'll take care of it. Don't worry. Today, we did a lot though, and it's time for all of you to rest.

**Sofia: **I'm so tired... All I need is a girl to cuddle with, and I'll be out in seconds. Wolfgang, would you like to volunteer?

**Wolfgang: **W-Would I like to what?

**William: **We gained important information here. That's what we should be focusing on.

**Adeline: **Plus, we know about that Adrestian lord sending out mercenaries. That's important too.

**Raithius: **I hope the church starts digging into that. If it's left alone, it could get really dangerous really fast.

**Lev: **I wonder if we'll have to take care of him...

**Adeline: **I don't like that... I don't think we should worry about it though. There's not much we can do until the church tells us what to do next.

**Novalee: **I'm just relieved we got to Ms. Hepius in time. It could have gone horribly if we were too much later...

**Wolfgang: **It was too much drama for me... I need some rest now.

**Adeline:** Goodnight.

**Sofia: **Farewell for now, beautiful ones.

**Lev: **Sleep well.

**Cedric: **Until tomorrow.

**William: **I'm glad this went well... That'll make it easier to sleep for sure.

**Jill: **See you later.

**Raithius: **Night, everybody.

_The students leave the room followed by Jill. Raithius hangs back for a moment to speak with you._

**Raithius: **Thanks for everything this month, Professor. We appreciate your help, and we're all glad we could help you learn about your Crests. It's all a mystery as to how things will turn out now, but we'll take it on together. Until that time comes, goodnight.

_Raithius leaves._

**Seraphine: **He's not what you would expect from the future leader of the Alliance. Most heirs are so serious, but he doesn't have a care in the world. I can't help but wonder how he can be so relaxed with so much on his shoulders... I'd love to learn more about him and the other students... Anyways, we should go to sleep. We have a lot to think about.

_You nod and head to your room._

**Seraphine: **I hope we can learn more about that Crest scholar too... Evenor Hepius... Something about her feels odd to me. She asked if we remembered her, which makes me think that she knew us before we lost our memories... She didn't show any signs of it around the others though, which is odd. You would expect her to react immediately if she knew you at one point.

_You nod your agreement. It did seem odd._

**Seraphine: **Plus, she asked if you heard voices. Why would she ask something like that if she wasn't sure? It feels odd, like it came out of nowhere. She knows something. We may not have had much of a chance to ask her today since we had to get back to the monastery, but we'll get her next time. She's the key to the truth.

_You agree with Seraphine and lay down on your bed._

**Seraphine: **Well, it's getting late... Goodnight, Professor. We can talk more another time.

_You close your eyes and hear Seraphine begin to snooze as her ghostly physical form fades away and she reappears in your head. You fall asleep yourself soon after, wondering about the new knowledge You have obtained and what it could possibly all mean... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, chapter two is finished!
> 
> -Digital


	17. Chapter Three: Bygone Era I (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You learn more about the soldiers dressed in black before exploring the monastery.

_You wake up on the first day of month six, the Blue Sea Moon. It's time for your third mission to be given out, and You are more ready than ever before._

**Seraphine: **Ah, it's good to know that we're finally getting the chance to do something... You know, since we consciously know that we're doing something this month instead of being surprised when odd invaders appear. We're still waiting for answers on the mercenary business... I guess all we can do is press on like nothing is wrong.

_You nod your agreement and begin to head for Aisa's room. She is standing there with Roy, which You must admit You expected._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor.

**Roy: **We have already determined what your next mission will be. It will hopefully come with less surprises than last month's task.

**Aisa: **There have been many attacks as of late in the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. Many smaller towns have been invaded by fighters dressed in black. They bear an emblem with a distorted version of the Crest of Blaiddyd.

**Seraphine: **The Crest of Blaiddyd... Come to think of it, isn't that Magnolia's Crest?

**Aisa: **They seem to bear a grudge against the Josefa line leading the Kingdom at this time...

**Roy: **These attacks have risen in popularity this past month, and we would like you and your students to provide aid to a few of the villages.

**Aisa: **Your goal is to go and defend some of these towns. Hopefully, it won't involve any violence.

**Seraphine: **You said that last time, but we still had to deal with Adrestian mercenaries!

_You ask about the mercenaries from the attack the month before._

**Roy: **We are still conducting our investigation on the matter. Hopefully, we will have new information to give you regarding them soon.

**Aisa: **In the meantime, we ask that you help out these smaller towns. Can you do that?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **Good. Now, it's time for you to choose a house for the month. Which house would you like to teach for the coming month?

_You reply with your answer: the Blue Lions._

**Roy: **You would like to side with the Blue Lions for the coming month?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I see. They should be in their homeroom, ready to hear your explanation of the mission.

**Roy: **Until next time, Professor.

_You thank them and leave, heading for the Blue Lions homeroom._

**Seraphine: **I wonder if these soldiers are at all related to the mercenaries we fought last month. Wearing all black with an emblem of the nation's color... That's too much of a coincidence for me. I think they're connected somehow.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **But until the church can figure something out, we just have to wait around... How boring.

_You make your way to the homeroom. When You enter, the students are standing with Reese._

**Reese: **Ah, Professor. I see you'll be joining us for the month.

**Magnolia: **We're supposed to be investigating a group of odd soldiers that have been invading villages in the Kingdom... I heard a little bit about them.

**Falon: **Really? Tell us everything.

**Magnolia: **I heard they started attacking villages about a month before we came to the Academy, but it ramped up in the past month while we were waiting for the professor to visit Ms. Hepius.

**Cassia: **They wear black armor and bear a distorted emblem of the Crest of Blaiddyd...

**Karim: **I wonder what that could possibly be about. They're not related to you or anything, right, Maggy?

**Magnolia: **I don't know... I don't think so. I didn't hear they bore the Crest of Blaiddyd up until recently.

**Nora: **How odd... I don't understand what could be going on.

**Aestlyn: **I can't help but wonder what their motives could be. Is there something they're after that they think they can find in one of these smaller villages?

**Kyle: **That would be my best guess... Though I can't say for sure. Everything is unclear.

**Illona: **We don't have enough information to draw any reliable conclusions.

**Magnolia: **In that case, all we can do is wait until we go out on our mission at the end of the month.

**Kyle: **I agree. Until then, let's try and have a nice month.

**Aestlyn: **There's no reason we shouldn't try to enjoy things, even if the future is uncertain as can be.

**Reese: **We're going to continue our training... Last month, we didn't anticipate a fight, but this month, we need to be prepared.

**Nora: **In case we get ambushed again or something?

**Reese: **No. If we see the army moving on a village at the end of the month, we're following them.

**Cassia: **Conflict is much more likely this month, in other words.

**Reese: **Exactly. It's vital that we're prepared when the time comes.

**Karim: **I don't know how to feel knowing that we're probably going to be fighting this time...

**Illona: **I can't help but wonder about these odd soldiers... Why would they want to attack these villages? Who are they?

**Aestlyn: **The mercenaries from last month... They wore all black as well, though they had a symbol of an Adrestian house.

**Kyle: **Both houses are noble, is what you're saying.

**Aestlyn: **Yes... I don't know what it could point to, but we can't find out anything until the time is right.

**Cassia: **If the church discovers anything about either one of the factions, we'll be the first to hear about it. I'm positive.

**Illona: **Is there anything else you need from us, Professor?

**Reese: **No... I'm afraid not. You can go on and spend the rest of the day on your own. Class dismissed.

_The other students begin to walk away, but Magnolia walks past and takes your hand in hers._

**Magnolia: **I need to talk to you in private, Professor... If that's alright.

_You nod and follow her to a secluded area of the courtyard outside the Officers Academy homerooms._

**Magnolia: **You haven't remembered anything about your past, which means you probably don't know much about the modern history of the continent. I was listening to the description of the fighters that was given, and... I think I might know them.

**Seraphine: **I hope this isn't her way of saying that she needs us dead and silenced.

**Magnolia: **I'll have you know that I wasn't always set to be the heir of Faerghus. It was... A sudden decision. You see, my father passed away around the time I was born. He was the previous king of Faerghus and was thought to have been killed by bandits, but... I don't believe that to be true.

_You ask her what she means._

**Magnolia: **I heard from records in the palace that my father's killers were wearing black armor and had a symbol similar to the Crest of Blaiddyd on their clothing. This is a huge secret. It's hidden to everyone outside of the royal families. The only people who are aware of it are the leaders of each nation and Lady Aisa.

**Seraphine: **So, the king was assassinated and not just killed in a casual fight. These soldiers had intent and went after him on purpose... This is starting to come together for me. It's too much of a coincidence that both groups wore black armor. Plus, the group that we're going up against this time worked to assassinate the previous king of Faerghus.

**Magnolia: **Use this information as you see fit... I figured you were the best person to tell about this.

**Seraphine: **What if those soldiers last month weren't mercenaries? What if they were soldiers from a different faction, one bent on continental chaos? I'm starting to think things are a lot deeper than we ever could have expected.

**Magnolia: **Anyways, thank you for listening to me. I had to voice my suspicions. I'll leave you to your day.

_Magnolia walks away, leaving You alone._

**Seraphine: **I can't be alone in thinking something fishy is going on... This is far too great a coincidence for me to pass by. You surely agree with me.

_You nod your agreement. You can tell something odd is taking place here, though coming to a conclusion is difficult since You have minimal information regarding the attackers._

**Seraphine: **I guess we can go on and enjoy the rest of our day for now... We can't do much about all of this later. The least we can do is try and enjoy the remainder of the month until we are given further information to draw conclusions.

_You nod and begin to explore the monastery for the day in an attempt to pass the time until the next mission. You see Illona standing in the courtyard of the Officers Academy._

**Illona: **I don't know what to do about the mercenaries we heard about... All we can really do is wait at this point, but I still want to know what's going on...

_You assure her that things will work out soon enough once You are given the necessary information._

**Illona: **Yeah... You're right. No worries, right...?

_The next person you see in the Academy courtyard is Lev. You approach him._

**Lev: **I somehow don't know if this mission will be as peaceful as we heard in the past. I mean, we thought it would be peaceful last month, but look at how that turned out... All we can do is wait and see, I suppose.

_The final person in the Academy's courtyard is Adrian, who is standing near the homeroom door to the Black Eagles._

**Adrian: **You know, when I was a student here last year, we did missions similar to what you've been doing up to this point... But it never really got quite this intense. It's only been a month, and I already get the feeling something more is going on... I don't like it.

_You leave the Academy courtyard and walk to the training hall. Once You arrive, You see Falon and Derric standing together._

**Falon: **With all that's been going on, I feel like I haven't had enough time to just train. It's one way I kick back and relax. Derric, would you be up for a match?

**Derric: **Of course. It's been a while since I've had the chance to do such a thing as well.

**Falon: **My father taught me how to use an axe, and as far as I can tell, nobody has ever beaten him aside from my mother, and since you're not her... Well, I hope you're ready for this!

_You walk away from the training hall, going to the area where the lower floor of dorms is found. Standing alone outside the dorms is Zelhira._

**Zelhira: **I truly don't understand the way your Crest works... I have been doing extensive research, but I can't find any signs that Unio or the Crest of Flames has been seen in many years... I have heard that Crests can be artificially distributed... I wonder if that's what's going on.

_You tell her You do not know the truth._

**Zelhira: **I'm sure we'll figure it out eventually... In the meantime, I guess we'll just have to keep on with our missions.

_Further down the row of dorms, You run into Wolfgang._

**Wolfgang: **You know, I haven't gotten any letters from my father recently... It truly is unfortunate. Granted, the delivery service isn't the best in my town, so perhaps none have come out... Oh, well. I know he cares about me no matter what.

_You agree with Wolfgang before going down to the greenhouse. Inside, You run into Magnolia._

**Magnolia: **With all that's been happening, I haven't had the chance to speak with my mother much... It's been years since we last had the chance to see one another due to my training... Magnolias are her favorite. That's where my name comes from. I might have to take some of these for the next time I see her... I'm sure I'll see her again soon.

_After finishing your conversation with Magnolia, You go to the upstairs dorm area. There, You run into Aquillus._

**Aquillus: **A person can only be born with a single Crest at once... If you have two, there must have been some way you were given a Crest after birth. I would do anything to have that ability...

_You ask if he would like it for himself._

**Aquillus: **For me? No... I would have wanted to give it to my younger siblings back in the day. Of course, things have changed since then, but... I can't help thinking about it, you know?

_You walk back downstairs to the main floor of the monastery. Near the fishing hole, You see Raithius and Novalee standing together._

**Raithius: **I can't help but wonder if there's a grand conspiracy going on here.

**Novalee: **Soldiers wearing black from different factions... It could seem like mere coincidence, but no official territory army wears such. There has to be a connection.

**Raithius: **So far, only Faerghus and Adrestia have seen issues... I hope they don't spread as far as Leicester. We've got enough on our hands as it is.

**Novalee: **We already have enough drama with all the feuding nobles... I do wish they'd stop being so petty.

_You leave Raithius and Novalee before walking up to the entrance hall. Inside, You see Polly and Kyle standing together._

**Kyle: **Why, don't you look stunning today?

**Polly: **You really don't need to flatter me this way.

**Kyle: **Who says I'm really just flattering you? I'm speaking my mind.

**Polly: **Somehow, I don't know what to think.

**Kyle: **Please, my fine lady... Would you like to go out to tea?

**Polly: **Forgive me for pretending you didn't ask me that. I have other business to take care of anyways.

**Kyle: **Alas... A tragedy.

_You go to the dining hall next, which is where You run into Herwig._

**Herwig: **I have been exchanging letters with my sister recently... Her name is Erika. She lives in a smaller church in Faerghus. I'm rather worried about her given all the attacks recently. She was here in the major church up until a few months ago... I pray we can reunite soon.

_You walk away from Herwig and approach Nora._

**Nora: **Back in the day, I saved some merchants from attackers. The word on the street is that they were bandits, but I don't think that's the case now. To be perfectly honest, I think they might be connected to the faction we're dealing with this month. After all, they wore that armor... I don't know what to think at this point.

_Nearby, You run into Wynne and Piers eating together._

**Wynne: **I wish we were allowed to go on this mission with the students... It's boring just sitting around here.

**Piers: **Normally, we would be tasked with an important mission like this. Leaving it up to the students isn't something Lady Aisa normally does... I think she has something else up her sleeve.

**Wynne: **Why do you think she'd want us here?

**Piers: **I think she's scared the monastery will be attacked... I don't like that idea, but it's the only one I can think of.

**Wynne: **At least we're not in trouble now, right?

**Piers: **Yeah... That counts for something.

_You leave the dining hall and enter the reception hall. Inside, You see Tuncay._

**Tuncay: **I really don't understand the nobility system here. I come from a territory outside the continent, and none of us have cared much for Crests or titles. I really can't comprehend why a noble would want something so badly that they'd risk combat by sending out mercenaries... Nobles really don't have a wink of sense, huh?

_You walk away from Tuncay, approaching Aestlyn, who is standing nearby._

**Aestlyn: **I just got a letter from my parents back in Faerghus. They've been struggling a lot with our territory seeing attacks recently. It's the soldiers in black... I wish I knew what they wanted. I just want my family to be safe, but that won't be happening until after these fighters are dealt with and finished off.

_The final person in the reception hall is Yuliya, who is standing alone._

**Yuliya: **I wish I knew what was going through the archbishop's head with all this... Why is she sending you and your students out to take care of things?

_You suggest it might be because some students have personal connections with the incidents._

**Yuliya: **Maybe... Still bugs me she won't use the knights for anything.

_You walk to the cathedral, and on the bridge over there, You encounter Chris and Hegias. If the Black Eagles were followed in the previous month, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **Hegias, do you have any ideas as to why Ms. Hepius hated me so much?

**Hegias: **I'm afraid not. I sent her a letter to ask, but she hasn't yet responded...

**Chris: **I don't know what I did to her... It bugs me though. We had never met officially up to this point.

**Hegias: **I don't understand it either... But if I hear anything, I'll be sure to tell you as soon as possible.

**Chris: **Thank you, Hegias.

_If the Black Eagles were not followed the previous month, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **I heard the new professor has two Crests... Any ideas as to why that is?

**Hegias: **No... But I trust Evenor. She knows what she's doing with Crest information. After all, she told me I had a Crest when I previously didn't know.

**Chris: **Wow... It's odd to think there might be people at our school who don't know they have a Crest since they never received a proper diagnosis.

**Hegias: **It is strange... I'd love to figure out if there are any hidden Crests here.

_In the cathedral, You encounter Callisto and Adeline talking._

**Callisto: **Hey, Adeline! I've been seeing you dancing a lot since we first arrived here. You can't hide it from me!

**Adeline: **Callisto, I really haven't...

**Callisto: **I can see it! You have to teach me some of those moves. What do you say? We can meet up in my room later on this month.

**Adeline: **I clearly can't deny it at this point, so... Fine. Let's do it.

_Also standing in the cathedral is Cassia._

**Cassia: **I wonder what the soldiers could possibly want... Motivations are peculiar things... They can change a lot about how you view a given thing. I'm sure they have their reasons for going after such villages, but... I would love to know now.

_You leave the cathedral, walking to the nearby knights' hall. Inside, You see Karim and Miriam._

**Karim: **Come on, Miriam. Why won't you spar with me?

**Miriam: **When I fight, it is to the death only. I don't do it for fun. Bloodshed should not be treated so lightly.

**Karim: **But sparring and training can be used to help you with that!

**Miriam: **I gave you my answer already, Karim. You can find someone else.

**Karim: **Alright, alright...

_The final person in the knights' hall is Cordelia._

**Cordelia: **With all that's been going on, we knights really haven't seen much activity. It's unfortunate, but there isn't much we can do about it. I think all we can do is go on like everything is normal... I'm sure we'll have a chance to take care of things soon enough.

_You agree with Cordelia before heading south to the stables. Florence is standing next to her pegasus, Faith._

**Florence: **Faith has been with me since before I came here... She means the world to me. I could never leave her behind... I truly don't understand how some can mistreat their steeds so. You need to form a connection with them. It's vital to fighting.

_You agree with her._

**Florence: **It's all about the way you can work in harmony... If you can get along, everything becomes easier. It's the perfect system!

_The second person in the stables, William, is standing on his own._

**William: **These soldiers have been appearing in both the Empire and Kingdom up to this point... I wonder what the reason could be. Is their avoiding Leicester on purpose, or is there no reason behind it? I guess we'll just have to see if we can find that out later on.

_You approach the final person in the stables, Cedric._

**Cedric: **I wish I knew what to do about these attacks. There's clearly something more going on with it, but... Oh, well. I'm just going to have to train even more than usual to make sure that everybody stays safe. I'd hate to lose somebody this way. We all deserve to live through all of this.

_You head upstairs to the second floor of the monastery. You see Jill standing outside of her room._

**Jill: **I don't understand any of what's been going on. If this really is a conspiracy, why did it take so long to come to light? Whoever is planning this, whoever is pulling the strings, knows what they're doing... There must be a mastermind. Do you agree?

_You nod._

**Jill: **We'll just have to find them... I'll be counting on you when that day comes.

_You enter Reese's room and see him sitting at his desk, reading a paper._

**Reese: **I have received reports of where these soldiers have been striking. This should make it easier to figure out where they'll be striking next. It will allow us to defend their next target. I just hope no other lives are lost in the meantime.

_You walk to the library, curling around the outside of the upper floor. You see Nesreen and Niko standing together._

**Niko: **Attacks in the Kingdom... Have you learned anything new?

**Nesreen: **No. I already told you everything I knew. Lady Aisa gave me the go-ahead to tell you, but I think she was distracted... Somehow, I think she knows something about these soldiers.

**Niko: **How odd... I wonder how she could be familiar with them. I guess we won't know until we hear it straight from her... Be careful while you're out in the field gathering information for us, Nesreen.

**Nesreen: **I will... Promise.

_Also in the library, You see Rodain sitting at a table._

**Rodain: **So much has been going on lately... I want to know who is responsible. When I was a student at the Academy so many years ago, we never had to deal with anything like this. It's strange... What makes this year so special?

_You walk out of the library and enter the cardinals' room, where You see Kaeta and Sofia standing together._

**Sofia: **You're a knight, right?

**Kaeta: **I'm still training, but yes.

**Sofia: **You look adorable... Perhaps we should go out sometime. I know I can always enjoy a cup of tea more when I'm there with another girl.

**Kaeta: **Well, isn't that sweet... You sure do seem more genuine than that Kyle kid. He's a funny one.

**Sofia: **Of course I'm genuine. I love appreciating beauty.

**Kaeta: **Thank you! You're just the sweetest!

**Sofia: **How does tonight sound?

**Kaeta: **Great to me!

_You walk to Aisa and Roy's room in the main area of the upper floor. The two are standing together._

**Aisa: **You have done very well in your missions up to this point... I expect this month to be no exception.

**Roy: **These Faerghus fighters... They certainly are more than meets the eye. You'll need to be careful.

_You assure him You will watch out for the students._

**Roy: **I appreciate you saying that. Until next time, Professor.

**Aisa: **Good luck in the coming month. We'll be counting on you.

_You finish your conversation with Roy and Aisa as Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **Man, I'm tired... Time to call it quits for today. Sleepy time, Professor!

_You walk back to your room, falling asleep nearly instantly. Seraphine falls asleep as well. You can't help but wonder what the coming month will hold, but You know You have a bad feeling about these soldiers in black... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to start chapter three!
> 
> This is coming early since I'll be out of town next week. Also, as of yesterday, I'm seventeen. Fat yeet.
> 
> -Digital


	18. Chapter Three: Bygone Era II (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You set out to Aster territory to stop the soldiers in black.

_The day before your mission to track down the soldiers in black, You stand in the Blue Lions homeroom with the students and Reese._

**Reese: **Nesreen delivered new information to us today. The soldiers in black have been seen moving on a village in Aster territory. We're going to be journeying there to save the village when they strike tomorrow.

**Aestlyn: **Aster... A village from my home is being terrorized...

**Kyle: **Not to worry, darling. We won't let anything happen. We'll save everybody there.

**Magnolia: **Enough people have been hurt by these soldiers as it is... It's time to bring this to an end.

**Falon: **I agree. Those who find it okay to attack people for their own selfish gains are disgusting.

**Illona: **We can handle this... We took care of our mission last month, right?

**Karim: **Exactly. We didn't have any issues there, and we can take care of this too. It'll be a piece of cake.

**Cassia: **I wouldn't put it so plainly... We're dealing with experienced soldiers. We can't take any risks.

**Nora: **But we'll be fine. We know what we're doing, and we've been training for this.

**Karim: **Plus, we're more experienced than we were last month. That's important.

**Aestlyn: **Yeah... We'll handle it!

**Nora: **If you say so...

**Cassia: **We shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves... That would be a recipe for disaster.

**Illona: **It's getting late... We should retire for the night. We need to be ready for tomorrow.

**Kyle: **I must agree... Goodnight, everyone.

**Reese: **Be ready for the mission tomorrow. We can't afford to take any longer than we need to.

**Falon: **I can't wait to win this... They're cowards, and it's what they deserve for killing the innocent.

_The students all leave alongside Reese save for Magnolia. She stays behind and whispers to You before departing._

**Magnolia: **If these people really are involved with the death of my father... I'm going to make sure they pay for all they've done. I didn't know him, but I hear he was a good man... He didn't deserve this, and neither did the people who passed away in the recent attacks. Until tomorrow, Professor.

_As Magnolia leaves, Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **She seems pretty determined... I can't blame her though. You should get some rest before tomorrow. We don't have a moment to lose. Tomorrow is a big day.

_You nod your agreement and make your way back to your room before falling asleep for the night, wondering what the future will hold..._

_The next morning, You arrive at the class's homeroom, ready to set out on your mission._

**Reese: **Alright. It's almost time for us to go.

**Magnolia: **We don't have a moment to lose.

**Kyle: **It's time for us to save those people, and if we're lucky, take out those soldiers once and for all.

**Aestlyn: **Too many innocent people have been hurt already...

**Karim: **Then we'll just have to kick them out! They won't know what hit them.

**Falon: **Off we go then!

**Nora: **We can't get too overconfident, but we should still seem prepared to intimidate them.

**Illona: **I hope we can do this...

**Cassia: **It's too late for second thoughts. Let's just get it over with.

_The group leaves the Officers Academy and Garreg Mach behind to walk to Aster territory. The whole way there, You can't help but think about the mission at hand. Could this faction truly be involved with the assassination of the previous king? What could their goal be?_

_When You arrive in Aster territory, You see a group of soldiers in black raiding a village._

**Reese: **There they are. We need to save as many townspeople as possible.

**Aestlyn: **I don't know what they want, but I won't let it continue... This ends now!

**Kyle: **For the sake of the people in that village, let's do this.

**Falon: **To battle, Lions!

_The battle begins. The Blue Lions are already seeming more experienced than the month before. You cast your gaze to the leader of the force, a man wearing all black with a mask to hide his face. The mask shows a variation of the Crest of Blaiddyd. His name is Marcus._

**Magnolia: **You! Who do you think you are?!

**Marcus: **Forgive me for interrupting your duties, Princess. I'm simply doing what I must to make a living around here. Does it conflict with your morals?

**Magnolia: **I don't know what you're doing or why, but I intend to stop it here today!

**Marcus: **Make as many empty promises as you wish. You'll always be just like your father.

**Magnolia: **Ah-!

**Falon: **Don't give them a second glance, Magnolia! Let's take them out!

**Seraphine: **This must be a revolutionary who helped to kill her father... We need to take him out.

_The battle continues around You. You and your class fight back well, saving many villagers along the way as You attempt to cut through the enemy forces to take on Marcus._

_If You initiate combat with Marcus, this dialogue plays out._

**Marcus: **You're sticking your nose where it doesn't belong... I don't know what you're playing at here, but by allying with the royal family, I'm going to have to end your life. My apologies.

_If Magnolia initiates combat with Marcus, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **Who are you? What is this faction of yours? Why are you doing this?

**Marcus: **You're just a child. How can I expect you to understand? Our plans are far too great for you to comprehend.

**Magnolia: **I want an answer. Now.

**Marcus: **The bastard child of Franz Josefa... You shouldn't even be alive. The plan would be going perfectly according to plan if not for your existence. You shouldn't have tried to take on the throne.

**Magnolia: **I don't know what you're talking about, but it all ends here!

_If anyone else initiates combat with Marcus, this dialogue plays out._

**Marcus: **Pests, the whole lot of you... You know what we do with pests? We squish them!

_When Marcus is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Marcus: **Ugh... This is not the end... It will not be over until we decree it is...

_After the battle, Magnolia stands over Marcus with the rest of the Blue Lions.You stand nearby as Magnolia points her sword at Marcus' throat._

**Magnolia: **I want the truth.

**Marcus: **I won't tell you... You're the reason this is happening...

**Magnolia: **What are you talking about? Quit speaking in riddles!

**Marcus: **You heard me... Next time we meet, we will have your head, Josefa. Consider that a promise.

_Marcus pulls a sphere from his pocket before throwing it onto the ground. Smoke fills the area. The Blue Lions begin to cough wildly, and You do the same._

**Seraphine: **Hey! Come back! You can't get away that easily!

_Your vision begins to fade to black. You fall forwards, unconsciousness taking over your mind..._

_You feel You are dreaming when You next see something. You are standing in the village You just helped to save, though You look much younger than You are currently. You look around, seeing many people bustling around in excitement. You look at your hands, seeing they are rather small. A woman appears nearby, and You look up._

**???: **Come on, Rion... Join me, please. We have to find a place to stay for the night.

_The woman has an air of familiarity to her, and You feel as if You have met her recently. Her voice is similar to Evenor's, making You gasp in surprise. You see a shadow dart past, and when You look, You see a child no older than three running around. She has green hair, and it takes You a moment to realize this is Seraphine._

**Seraphine: **Rion! Come on! Play!

_You look in between Seraphine and Evenor. Seraphine disappears into thin air when You do not follow her. Evenor takes your hand and drags You into the town. Your vision turns to mist, and everything fades to black..._

_When You open your eyes once again, You see the students standing above You alongside Reese. You are in a hotel, as far as You can tell._

**Reese: **Good... You're awake.

**Kyle: **We were so worried, Professor!

**Illona: **It appears they created some form of gas from dark magic to trigger unconsciousness...

**Aestlyn: **They're gone... If not for the kind people of this town, we would have been left alone out there.

**Falon: **They used the distraction to get away. No traces of those soldiers remain.

**Magnolia: **Their leader dropped this while he was escaping... I managed to take hold of it just before I fell unconscious.

_Magnolia hands You a piece of paper. On it, the word 'MALICE' is written in threatening capital letters._

**Karim: **What the hell could that mean?

**Cassia: **If I had to wager a guess, I would say that's the name of their faction.

**Nora: **Malice... They had a reason for this. I'm sure of it.

**Magnolia: **Yeah... Professor, you look rather pale. Are you okay?

_You say You had a dream while You were unconscious, and You believe it to be a sign of a lost memory._

**Reese: **Truly? Then, by all means, continue.

_You explain the dream, starting with the woman who You believe was Evenor. She was treating You like a mother would her child. After that, You explain a girl with green hair running off into the woods near the town, though You intentionally choose to not mention that You have been seeing this girl for some time._

**Illona: **You... You know Ms. Hepius?!

**Aestlyn: **And it sounds like you were in Aster territory at one point before, when you were much younger...

**Kyle: **How old do you think you were at the time?

_You say You were likely around fifteen years old. You also mention how nobody else seemed to be able to see the girl with green hair._

**Falon: **You know, the goddess has long green hair... What if she was the one who you saw in the dream?

**Reese: **Dreaming of the goddess...

**Cassia: **I'm afraid I don't know what that dream could have meant, but... If I had to guess, I'd say it was a memory from the past, from before you lost your memory.

**Nora: **Who knew that would trigger something?

**Karim: **If you ask me, this is definitely something to keep in mind... We've learned a lot here today.

**Magnolia: **Yeah... We're going up against a faction called Malice. They seem to hold a grudge against Faerghus, as far as I can tell...

**Nora: **If I had to wager a guess, I would say that Malice is also connected to those mercenaries from last month.

**Illona: **I wonder what the link could be...

**Karim: **First, they attacked Ms. Hepius, and now, they go after a village she was once in with the professor... What could the connection be? Do you think she's the reason why?

**Kyle: **I can't say for sure... I wish I could tell you.

**Cassia: **It seems clear Ms. Hepius has something to do with the professor's lost memories. Why would she appear in a dream like that if that wasn't the case?

**Magnolia: **It must have felt rather realistic for you to think it must have happened to you in the past...

**Falon: **The archbishop will want to hear about all of this. We should get back to her as soon as we can.

**Reese: **The people of this village are going to receive compensation from the church for the damages they suffered... We should be okay to leave after bidding everyone farewell.

**Illona: **Do you think you can make it back, Professor?

_You stand up and see if You feel dizzy. When You do not, You nod._

**Illona: **That's a relief... I was halfway worried we'd have to carry you back...

**Reese: **It's time for us to return. We need to report back as soon as possible.

**Magnolia: **Alright... Let's get going then.

_Everyone begins to leave the room, and You follow behind them. Magnolia walks alongside You._

**Magnolia: **They seemed to carry such hate for my bloodline... I do believe they are connected to the people who killed my father. I just can't comprehend why... They had a plan, though I don't know what it could have been. I tried to ask for the truth, but their leader... He said I was responsible for this, that everything would be according to plan if not for me.

_You tell her she shouldn't let their words get to her._

**Magnolia: **I know, I just... I don't know. We don't have enough information to come to any reliable conclusions... We should catch up with the others. Thank you, Professor.

_Magnolia walks away, and Seraphine appears next to You._

**Seraphine: **This is too much for me... Those men were involved in the assassination plot for sure. It's too much of a coincidence. They hate the Faerghus royal family and happened to be seen in the battle that took the life of Magnolia's father...

_You nod. You have discovered a lot today._

**Seraphine: **I hope it's not selfish of me to be thinking more about what we saw in that dream though... Was that truly a memory? It would explain why Ms. Hepius asked if we remembered her, but... I don't know why we would be with her in a Faerghus territory... And that little girl was me, but I was so young... You seemed to be a teenager at the time. What could have happened? I don't understand, but I want to know...

_You don't hear Seraphine say anything on the way back to the monastery. She seems to be lost in her own thoughts about what You saw in that dream. You do not ask her about it. After returning to the monastery, You go to report what You have learned to Aisa._

**Aisa: **Ah, Professor... I see you have returned. Did you learn anything new today?

_You explain how You saved a village from being attacked by the soldiers._

**Aisa: **I am glad to hear no one was killed in today's battle... Is there anything else I should know?

_You tell her your suspicions about the group, which called itself Malice, being involved in the death of the previous king of Faerghus._

**Aisa: **Ah... It appears you know the truth about Franz Josefa's death... I assume Magnolia told you... After he died, I was told the truth about what happened when he was killed. I didn't realize it would ever come to this... The group who killed him disappeared soon afterwards and wasn't seen again up until recently. I had my suspicions they were tied in with the group that attacked Ms. Hepius last month, but I had no proof... Thank you for telling me this.

_You ask her if there is anything else she needs of You._

**Aisa: **No... Not that I can think of. The church will do its best to investigate the two parties you have fought up to this point. Until we come to a conclusive answer about what should be done, we are going to go on as usual. You should return to your students. They are waiting for you.

_You nod to Aisa and leave the room, not saying a word about the dream You had. You do not know if it is a good idea to tell the truth to her until You know the truth. You walk to the Blue Lions homeroom silently, seeing the students inside once again._

**Reese: **Well, that's that. We've all been through a lot today. I think we should turn in for now.

**Falon: **We learned so much today... I don't know how to feel about it...

**Aestlyn: **At least we drove them off... But I somehow doubt that's the last time we'll see them.

**Illona: **Yeah... They're not gone. I know it.

**Kyle: **The least we can do right now is try and prepare for when they do appear next.

**Karim: **Yeah. We need to be ready for when they come back, since I know this isn't the end.

**Cassia: **They retreated and escaped, meaning they're all out there still... How aggravating.

**Nora: **Let's just get ready for it.

**Magnolia: **A lot happened... I was thinking this school year would just be about figuring out where we all belong in the world, but I think we've already seen how wrong that assumption was...

**Falon: **Yeah. Can't we just have a moment of peace for once? Maybe a mission will actually end simply instead of leaving us with this cloud of uncertainty.

**Reese: **No year before now has been like this... It's concerning.

**Nora: **There isn't much we can do about it now. The church is going to investigate the enemy, and when they find something, we'll be able to press on. Until then, let's continue going about our lives.

**Cassia: **I'm ready to turn in for the night. I'm exhausted.

**Karim: **Same here... I don't know who those enemies were... Malice... But I have a bad feeling about them.

**Aestlyn: **I just hope Aster territory stays safe from here on out... It's the least my family deserves. They've had to deal with it enough as it is.

**Kyle: **We drove them off, and unless they think we're finished, they're going to stay away.

**Nora: **Yes. The threat of us appearing is enough to frighten them as far as I can tell.

**Illona: **I hope that's the case... I'd be content to never have to deal with them again...

**Falon: **Well, until we figure it out, I'm heading to bed. Night, everybody.

**Karim: **Until next time.

**Magnolia: **Goodnight, Professor...

_Magnolia looks at You oddly on the way out, and You can tell that she is thinking of the death of her father. You do not dwell on it though, instead watching the students leave. You follow them out before heading back to your room. Seraphine appears again once You arrive._

**Seraphine: **I thought I had a pit in my stomach after last month, but this takes the cake... I just want all of this uncertainty to be over... But it doesn't look like that's going to be happening anytime soon. Why don't we try and get some sleep until then? Yeah... Yeah, that sounds like a good idea... I can't tell if I want to find out the truth about our shared past or not at this point. That dream scared me, you know... I don't know what to think about it... I'm sure we'll have to face it one way or another, but... I'm not ready. Until then, goodnight, Professor... May we figure out the truth together soon.

_You go to sleep soon after, though it takes You quite some time to drift off. The uncertainty of the future is too much for You to immediately fall unconscious. What could that dream have meant? What is the truth behind this faction called Malice? What does Malice want, and why did attacking a village suit their goals? You eventually fall asleep, though it is restless. No new memories are gleaned from your rest, and You feel sick. Thankfully, You have the next day off. That is a minor blessing, but it is all You seem to have in this time of turmoil and fear... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last stop of the night!
> 
> Also wow what a twist
> 
> -Digital


	19. Chapter Three: Bygone Era I (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You learn more about the soldiers dressed in black before exploring the monastery.

_You wake up on the first day of month six, the Blue Sea Moon. It’s time for your third mission to be given out, and You are more ready than ever before._

**Seraphine: **Ah, it’s good to know that we’re finally getting the chance to do something… You know, since we consciously know that we’re doing something this month instead of being surprised when odd invaders appear. We’re still waiting for answers on the mercenary business… I guess all we can do is press on like nothing is wrong.

_You nod your agreement and begin to head for Aisa’s room. She is standing there with Roy, which You must admit You expected._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor.

**Roy: **We have already determined what your next mission will be. It will hopefully come with less surprises than last month’s task.

**Aisa: **There have been many attacks as of late in the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. Many smaller towns have been invaded by fighters dressed in black. They bear an emblem with a distorted version of the Crest of Blaiddyd.

**Seraphine: **The Crest of Blaiddyd… Come to think of it, isn’t that Magnolia’s Crest?

**Aisa: **They seem to bear a grudge against the Josefa line leading the Kingdom at this time…

**Roy: **These attacks have risen in popularity this past month, and we would like you and your students to provide aid to a few of the villages.

**Aisa: **Your goal is to go and defend some of these towns. Hopefully, it won’t involve any violence.

**Seraphine: **You said that last time, but we still had to deal with Adrestian mercenaries!

_You ask about the mercenaries from the attack the month before._

**Roy: **We are still conducting our investigation on the matter. Hopefully, we will have new information to give you regarding them soon.

**Aisa: **In the meantime, we ask that you help out these smaller towns. Can you do that?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **Good. Now, it’s time for you to choose a house for the month. Which house would you like to teach for the coming month?

_You reply with your answer: the Black Eagles._

**Roy: **You would like to side with the Black Eagles for the coming month?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I see. They should be in their homeroom, ready to hear your explanation of the mission.

**Roy: **Until next time, Professor.

_You thank them and leave, heading for the Black Eagles homeroom._

**Seraphine: **I wonder if these soldiers are at all related to the mercenaries we fought last month. Wearing all black with an emblem of the nation’s color… That’s too much of a coincidence for me. I think they’re connected somehow.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **But until the church can figure something out, we just have to wait around… How boring.

_You make your way to the homeroom. When You enter, the students are standing with Herwig._

**Herwig: **Hello, Professor. Welcome back to the Black Eagle house. I take it you’ll be with us this month then.

**Chris: **I heard we’re meant to be investigating soldiers who have been invading small towns in the Kingdom… Do you want me to tell you guys what I know about them?

**Polly: **Of course. Go right ahead.

**Chris:** The attacks began back before we all arrived here at the monastery. They grew more frequent in the past month or so.

**Aquillus: **I heard they all wear black armor as well… And they bear a distorted Crest of Blaiddyd.

**Zelhira: **What could it mean?

**Chris:** I wish I could tell you. I wasn’t even meant to hear this information. I overheard it while my father was in a strategy meeting before I was sent here.

**Tuncay:** I don’t understand what their reasoning could be. Villages just have common people.

**Florence: **If they’re professional soldiers, that makes it even more peculiar… Why would they go after regular towns?

**Hegias: **They must know what they’re doing though. I’m sure it’s methodical.

**Callisto: **We just don’t have enough information to go off of yet.

**Chris: **All we can really do is wait for the mission… I hate that.

**Callisto: **Then let’s try to enjoy ourselves.

**Florence: **There’s no point in stressing ourselves out all month.

**Herwig: **We should continue our training. This month is much more likely to have a fight… Granted, we learned a lesson about preparedness last month.

**Aquillus: **It’s all about preparation.

**Herwig: **If we happen to run into the village while it’s under attack, we’re going to follow the soldiers. Church orders.

**Zelhira:** In other words, we have to fight.

**Herwig: **At the very least, we need to be prepared for a fight.

**Hegias: **I don’t know how to feel about that… I didn’t like the fight last month. I’m used to fighting with restrictions, not at the mercy of the battlefield.

**Zelhira: **I’m more worried about the way these soldiers appear compared to last month’s mercenaries.

**Polly: **Their armor does seem similar to the fighters we faced when rescuing Ms. Hepius… As much as I hate to say it, we may have a link here.

**Tuncay:** They’re connected…

**Aquillus: **We’ll just have to wait to find out the full story. For now, I’m going to try and not think about it too much.

**Tuncay: **At least we’re high up on the information hierarchy.

**Hegias: **Is there anything else you need from us, Professor? Or is that all?

**Herwig: **No, that’s it. See you all later.

_The other students begin to walk away, but Chris walks past and takes your hand in hers._

**Chris: **Professor… Can I speak to you for a few seconds? I promise it won’t take too long.

_You nod and follow her to a secluded area of the courtyard outside the Officers Academy homerooms._

**Chris:** Your past is still a mystery from before you met me and the other house leaders in that village… It means your knowledge on history is lacking. Well, about them… This isn’t the first time they’ve appeared, to say the least.

**Seraphine: **She knows them? Have they really showed up in the past? I hope she’s not related to them somehow…

**Chris: **About a year before I was born, the previous king of Faerghus, Franz Josefa, was murdered. The gossip stated he was murdered by bandits, but… I heard my father speaking about it recently, before I came here to the Academy. He was killed by assassins.

_You ask her what she means._

**Chris: **I overheard him saying he was killed by soldiers in all black. Their armor bore a symbol like the Crest of his family. Only the royal families and the archbishop are aware. I’m not even supposed to know this since I was never officially told.

**Seraphine: **So, the king was assassinated and not just killed in a casual fight. These soldiers had intent and went after him on purpose… This is starting to come together for me. It’s too much of a coincidence that both groups wore black armor. Plus, the group that we’re going up against this time worked to assassinate the previous king of Faerghus.

**Chris: **I just figured you should know… Sorry to have bothered you. And… Keep this between us, okay? I don’t even want to imagine how my father would react if he heard I knew.

**Seraphine: **What if those soldiers last month weren’t mercenaries? What if they were soldiers from a different faction, one bent on continental chaos? I’m starting to think things are a lot deeper than we ever could have expected.

**Chris: **Um… That’s it. Sorry for the interruption, Professor. Good day.

_Chris walks away, leaving You alone._

**Seraphine: **I can’t be alone in thinking something fishy is going on… This is far too great a coincidence for me to pass by. You surely agree with me.

_You nod your agreement. You can tell something odd is taking place here, though coming to a conclusion is difficult since You have minimal information regarding the attackers._

**Seraphine: **I guess we can go on and enjoy the rest of our day for now… We can’t do much about all of this later. The least we can do is try and enjoy the remainder of the month until we are given further information to draw conclusions.

_You nod and begin to explore the monastery for the day in an attempt to pass the time until the next mission. You see Illona standing in the courtyard of the Officers Academy._

**Illona: **I don’t know what to do about the mercenaries we heard about… All we can really do is wait at this point, but I still want to know what’s going on…

_You assure her that things will work out soon enough once You are given the necessary information._

**Illona: **Yeah… You’re right. No worries, right…?

_The next person you see in the Academy courtyard is Lev. You approach him._

**Lev: **I somehow don’t know if this mission will be as peaceful as we heard in the past. I mean, we thought it would be peaceful last month, but look at how that turned out… All we can do is wait and see, I suppose.

_The final person in the Academy’s courtyard is Adrian, who is standing near the homeroom door to the Black Eagles._

**Adrian: **You know, when I was a student here last year, we did missions similar to what you’ve been doing up to this point… But it never really got quite this intense. It’s only been a month, and I already get the feeling something more is going on… I don’t like it.

_You leave the Academy courtyard and walk to the training hall. Once You arrive, You see Falon and Derric standing together._

**Falon: **With all that’s been going on, I feel like I haven’t had enough time to just train. It’s one way I kick back and relax. Derric, would you be up for a match?

**Derric: **Of course. It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to do such a thing as well.

**Falon: **My father taught me how to use an axe, and as far as I can tell, nobody has ever beaten him aside from my mother, and since you’re not her… Well, I hope you’re ready for this!

_You walk away from the training hall, going to the area where the lower floor of dorms is found. Standing alone outside the dorms is Zelhira._

**Zelhira: **I truly don’t understand the way your Crest works… I have been doing extensive research, but I can’t find any signs that Unio or the Crest of Flames has been seen in many years… I have heard that Crests can be artificially distributed… I wonder if that’s what’s going on.

_You tell her You do not know the truth._

**Zelhira: **I’m sure we’ll figure it out eventually… In the meantime, I guess we’ll just have to keep on with our missions.

_Further down the row of dorms, You run into Wolfgang._

**Wolfgang: **You know, I haven’t gotten any letters from my father recently… It truly is unfortunate. Granted, the delivery service isn’t the best in my town, so perhaps none have come out… Oh, well. I know he cares about me no matter what.

_You agree with Wolfgang before going down to the greenhouse. Inside, You run into Magnolia._

**Magnolia: **With all that’s been happening, I haven’t had the chance to speak with my mother much… It’s been years since we last had the chance to see one another due to my training… Magnolias are her favorite. That’s where my name comes from. I might have to take some of these for the next time I see her… I’m sure I’ll see her again soon.

_After finishing your conversation with Magnolia, You go to the upstairs dorm area. There, You run into Aquillus._

**Aquillus: **A person can only be born with a single Crest at once… If you have two, there must have been some way you were given a Crest after birth. I would do anything to have that ability…

_You ask if he would like it for himself._

**Aquillus: **For me? No… I would have wanted to give it to my younger siblings back in the day. Of course, things have changed since then, but… I can’t help thinking about it, you know?

_You walk back downstairs to the main floor of the monastery. Near the fishing hole, You see Raithius and Novalee standing together._

**Raithius: **I can’t help but wonder if there’s a grand conspiracy going on here.

**Novalee: **Soldiers wearing black from different factions… It could seem like mere coincidence, but no official territory army wears such. There has to be a connection.

**Raithius: **So far, only Faerghus and Adrestia have seen issues… I hope they don’t spread as far as Leicester. We’ve got enough on our hands as it is.

**Novalee: **We already have enough drama with all the feuding nobles… I do wish they’d stop being so petty.

_You leave Raithius and Novalee before walking up to the entrance hall. Inside, You see Polly and Kyle standing together._

**Kyle: **Why, don’t you look stunning today?

**Polly: **You really don’t need to flatter me this way.

**Kyle: **Who says I’m really just flattering you? I’m speaking my mind.

**Polly: **Somehow, I don’t know what to think.

**Kyle: **Please, my fine lady… Would you like to go out to tea?

**Polly: **Forgive me for pretending you didn’t ask me that. I have other business to take care of anyways.

**Kyle: **Alas… A tragedy.

_You go to the dining hall next, which is where You run into Herwig._

**Herwig: **I have been exchanging letters with my sister recently… Her name is Erika. She lives in a smaller church in Faerghus. I’m rather worried about her given all the attacks recently. She was here in the major church up until a few months ago… I pray we can reunite soon.

_You walk away from Herwig and approach Nora._

**Nora: **Back in the day, I saved some merchants from attackers. The word on the street is that they were bandits, but I don’t think that’s the case now. To be perfectly honest, I think they might be connected to the faction we’re dealing with this month. After all, they wore that armor… I don’t know what to think at this point.

_Nearby, You run into Wynne and Piers eating together._

**Wynne: **I wish we were allowed to go on this mission with the students… It’s boring just sitting around here.

**Piers: **Normally, we would be tasked with an important mission like this. Leaving it up to the students isn’t something Lady Aisa normally does… I think she has something else up her sleeve.

**Wynne: **Why do you think she’d want us here?

**Piers: **I think she’s scared the monastery will be attacked… I don’t like that idea, but it’s the only one I can think of.

**Wynne: **At least we’re not in trouble now, right?

**Piers: **Yeah… That counts for something.

_You leave the dining hall and enter the reception hall. Inside, You see Tuncay._

**Tuncay: **I really don’t understand the nobility system here. I come from a territory outside the continent, and none of us have cared much for Crests or titles. I really can’t comprehend why a noble would want something so badly that they’d risk combat by sending out mercenaries… Nobles really don’t have a wink of sense, huh?

_You walk away from Tuncay, approaching Aestlyn, who is standing nearby._

**Aestlyn: **I just got a letter from my parents back in Faerghus. They’ve been struggling a lot with our territory seeing attacks recently. It’s the soldiers in black… I wish I knew what they wanted. I just want my family to be safe, but that won’t be happening until after these fighters are dealt with and finished off.

_The final person in the reception hall is Yuliya, who is standing alone._

**Yuliya: **I wish I knew what was going through the archbishop’s head with all this… Why is she sending you and your students out to take care of things?

_You suggest it might be because some students have personal connections with the incidents._

**Yuliya: **Maybe… Still bugs me she won’t use the knights for anything.

_You walk to the cathedral, and on the bridge over there, You encounter Chris and Hegias. If the Black Eagles were followed in the previous month, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **Hegias, do you have any ideas as to why Ms. Hepius hated me so much?

**Hegias: **I’m afraid not. I sent her a letter to ask, but she hasn’t yet responded…

**Chris: **I don’t know what I did to her… It bugs me though. We had never met officially up to this point.

**Hegias: **I don’t understand it either… But if I hear anything, I’ll be sure to tell you as soon as possible.

**Chris: **Thank you, Hegias.

_If the Black Eagles were not followed the previous month, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **I heard the new professor has two Crests… Any ideas as to why that is?

**Hegias: **No… But I trust Evenor. She knows what she’s doing with Crest information. After all, she told me I had a Crest when I previously didn’t know.

**Chris: **Wow… It’s odd to think there might be people at our school who don’t know they have a Crest since they never received a proper diagnosis.

**Hegias: **It is strange… I’d love to figure out if there are any hidden Crests here.

_In the cathedral, You encounter Callisto and Adeline talking._

**Callisto: **Hey, Adeline! I’ve been seeing you dancing a lot since we first arrived here. You can’t hide it from me!

**Adeline: **Callisto, I really haven’t…

**Callisto: **I can see it! You have to teach me some of those moves. What do you say? We can meet up in my room later on this month.

**Adeline: **I clearly can’t deny it at this point, so… Fine. Let’s do it.

_Also standing in the cathedral is Cassia._

**Cassia: **I wonder what the soldiers could possibly want… Motivations are peculiar things… They can change a lot about how you view a given thing. I’m sure they have their reasons for going after such villages, but… I would love to know now.

_You leave the cathedral, walking to the nearby knights’ hall. Inside, You see Karim and Miriam._

**Karim: **Come on, Miriam. Why won’t you spar with me?

**Miriam: **When I fight, it is to the death only. I don’t do it for fun. Bloodshed should not be treated so lightly.

**Karim: **But sparring and training can be used to help you with that!

**Miriam: **I gave you my answer already, Karim. You can find someone else.

**Karim: **Alright, alright…

_The final person in the knights’ hall is Cordelia._

**Cordelia: **With all that’s been going on, we knights really haven’t seen much activity. It’s unfortunate, but there isn’t much we can do about it. I think all we can do is go on like everything is normal… I’m sure we’ll have a chance to take care of things soon enough.

_You agree with Cordelia before heading south to the stables. Florence is standing next to her pegasus, Faith._

**Florence: **Faith has been with me since before I came here… She means the world to me. I could never leave her behind… I truly don’t understand how some can mistreat their steeds so. You need to form a connection with them. It’s vital to fighting.

_You agree with her._

**Florence: **It’s all about the way you can work in harmony… If you can get along, everything becomes easier. It’s the perfect system!

_The second person in the stables, William, is standing on his own._

**William: **These soldiers have been appearing in both the Empire and Kingdom up to this point… I wonder what the reason could be. Is their avoiding Leicester on purpose, or is there no reason behind it? I guess we’ll just have to see if we can find that out later on.

_You approach the final person in the stables, Cedric._

**Cedric: **I wish I knew what to do about these attacks. There’s clearly something more going on with it, but… Oh, well. I’m just going to have to train even more than usual to make sure that everybody stays safe. I’d hate to lose somebody this way. We all deserve to live through all of this.

_You head upstairs to the second floor of the monastery. You see Jill standing outside of her room._

**Jill: **I don’t understand any of what’s been going on. If this really is a conspiracy, why did it take so long to come to light? Whoever is planning this, whoever is pulling the strings, knows what they’re doing… There must be a mastermind. Do you agree?

_You nod._

**Jill: **We’ll just have to find them… I’ll be counting on you when that day comes.

_You enter Reese’s room and see him sitting at his desk, reading a paper._

**Reese: **I have received reports of where these soldiers have been striking. This should make it easier to figure out where they’ll be striking next. It will allow us to defend their next target. I just hope no other lives are lost in the meantime.

_You walk to the library, curling around the outside of the upper floor. You see Nesreen and Niko standing together._

**Niko: **Attacks in the Kingdom… Have you learned anything new?

**Nesreen: **No. I already told you everything I knew. Lady Aisa gave me the go-ahead to tell you, but I think she was distracted… Somehow, I think she knows something about these soldiers.

**Niko: **How odd… I wonder how she could be familiar with them. I guess we won’t know until we hear it straight from her… Be careful while you’re out in the field gathering information for us, Nesreen.

**Nesreen: **I will… Promise.

_Also in the library, You see Rodain sitting at a table._

**Rodain: **So much has been going on lately… I want to know who is responsible. When I was a student at the Academy so many years ago, we never had to deal with anything like this. It’s strange… What makes this year so special?

_You walk out of the library and enter the cardinals’ room, where You see Kaeta and Sofia standing together._

**Sofia: **You’re a knight, right?

**Kaeta: **I’m still training, but yes.

**Sofia: **You look adorable… Perhaps we should go out sometime. I know I can always enjoy a cup of tea more when I’m there with another girl.

**Kaeta: **Well, isn’t that sweet… You sure do seem more genuine than that Kyle kid. He’s a funny one.

**Sofia: **Of course I’m genuine. I love appreciating beauty.

**Kaeta: **Thank you! You’re just the sweetest!

**Sofia: **How does tonight sound?

**Kaeta: **Great to me!

_You walk to Aisa and Roy’s room in the main area of the upper floor. The two are standing together._

**Aisa: **You have done very well in your missions up to this point… I expect this month to be no exception.

**Roy: **These Faerghus fighters… They certainly are more than meets the eye. You’ll need to be careful.

_You assure him You will watch out for the students._

**Roy: **I appreciate you saying that. Until next time, Professor.

**Aisa: **Good luck in the coming month. We’ll be counting on you.

_You finish your conversation with Roy and Aisa as Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **Man, I’m tired… Time to call it quits for today. Sleepy time, Professor!

_You walk back to your room, falling asleep nearly instantly. Seraphine falls asleep as well. You can’t help but wonder what the coming month will hold, but You know You have a bad feeling about these soldiers in black… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally back after two weeks! Yes!
> 
> This update is coming a day early since I'll be missing in action tomorrow. Also, happy Halloween! Consider this a spooky gift.
> 
> -Digital


	20. Chapter Three: Bygone Era II (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You set out to Aster territory to stop the soldiers in black.

_The day before your mission to track down the soldiers in black, You stand in the Black Eagles homeroom with the students and Herwig._

**Herwig:** Information has come in from Nesreen. The soldiers are making an advance towards a village in the Aster territory of Faerghus. It’s ruled by the family of Aestlyn, a student of the Blue Lions. We’re going to rescue the town.

**Aquillus:** I don’t understand what they could want there.

**Zelhira: **We can’t let their plot succeed, no matter what they’re planning.

**Chris: **Too many people have suffered because of them as it is. I can’t let them get away once again.

**Tuncay: **They’re selfish piles of garbage for going after innocent people this way.

**Callisto: **Last month was easy. We can totally handle this with a bit of confidence and preparation.

**Florence: **All we’re doing is rescuing a village. That can’t be too bad, right? Plus, we’re better than we were last month already.

**Polly: **We can’t afford to get cocky. Sometimes, our own confidence can be our greatest weakness.

**Chris: **We can do it. I’m sure of it.

**Callisto: **Florence is right. We’ve grown up a lot since the first time we set out to defend Ms. Hepius. We’re ready for this.

**Hegias: **I hope so… I have a bad feeling about this.

**Florence: **Confidence is important, everybody!

**Aquillus: **What did Polly just say? We can’t get cocky. Our own shortcomings will only be magnified by the battlefield.

**Zelhira: **It’s almost time for us to go to sleep. We can figure out what we’re going to do tomorrow when we’ve rested.

**Tuncay: **Until then, Eagles.

**Herwig:** Don’t stay up too late. We need to be ready for when we need to attack.

**Hegias: **This is the least we can do to save all those people who have been hurt up to this point…

_The students all leave alongside Herwig save for Chris. She stays behind and whispers to You before departing._

**Chriss: **I’ve been thinking about the murder of the previous king of Faerghus… If they did do it, we’re going to be facing a true threat tomorrow. We need to be careful… Don’t get hurt, Professor. We all need you here.

_As Chris leaves, Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **She seems so nervous… I can’t blame her though. You should get some rest before tomorrow. We don’t have a moment to lose. Tomorrow is a big day.

_You nod your agreement and make your way back to your room before falling asleep for the night, wondering what the future will hold…_

_The next morning, You arrive at the class’s homeroom, ready to set out on your mission._

**Herwig: **Let’s finish our final preparations and get out of here.

**Chris: **Every moment we wait, those people are in danger…

**Hegias: **It’s time we took care of those soldiers… I mean, really take them out of the picture. Enough harm has been done already.

**Zelhira: **We can’t change the past, but we can alter the future.

**Callisto: **In that case, let’s give them a taste of their own medicine. If they want to hurt people, we’ll just have to hurt them.

**Florence: **Yeah! I am so ready to show them what I’m made of!

**Polly: **Be careful. We can’t get too excited. I said this yesterday, but it appears nobody really listened to my pleas.

**Aquillus: **Is everyone ready for this? There’s no going back once we leave.

**Hegias:** It’s kind of late for second thoughts at this point. We’ve been setting ourselves up for it all month.

_The group leaves the Officers Academy and Garreg Mach behind to walk to Aster territory. The whole way there, You can’t help but think about the mission at hand. Could this faction truly be involved with the assassination of the previous king? What could their goal be?_

_When You arrive in Aster territory, You see a group of soldiers in black raiding a village._

**Herwig: **It looks like we’ve found our targets already.

**Aquillus: **This cannot be allowed to continue.

**Hegias: **This has gone on for long enough…

**Polly: **Alright, Eagles. It’s time to end this!

_The battle begins. The Black Eagles are already seeming more experienced than the month before. You cast your gaze to the leader of the force, a man wearing all black with a mask to hide his face. The mask shows a variation of the Crest of Blaiddyd. His name is Marcus._

**Chris: **You seem to be the commander… Who are you?

**Marcus: **Forgive me for interrupting your duties, Princess. I’m simply doing what I must to make a living around here. Does it conflict with your morals?

**Chris: **I didn’t come here for you to mock me about what you’re doing. I’m here because I would like answers, and if you won’t give them freely, I’ll just have to take them myself!

**Marcus: **Make as many empty promises as you wish.

_The battle continues around You. You and your class fight back well, saving many villagers along the way as You attempt to cut through the enemy forces to take on Marcus._

_If You initiate combat with Marcus, this dialogue plays out._

**Marcus: **You’re sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong… I don’t know what you’re playing at here, but by allying with the royal family, I’m going to have to end your life. My apologies.

_If Chris initiates combat with Marcus, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **Tell me. Who are you? What gives you the right to attack these people?

**Marcus: **You’re just a child. How can I expect you to understand? Our plans are far too great for you to comprehend.

**Chris: **Changing the subject won’t work with me.

**Marcus: **I’m done talking. Let’s get this over with.

_If anyone else initiates combat with Marcus, this dialogue plays out._

**Marcus: **Pests, the whole lot of you… You know what we do with pests? We squish them!

_When Marcus is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Marcus: **Ugh… This is not the end… It will not be over until we decree it is…

_After the battle, Chris stands over Marcus with the rest of the Black Eagles.You stand nearby as Chris points a spear at Marcus’ throat._

**Chris: **I want to know why you did this. Tell me.

**Marcus: **It’s none of your damn business…

**Chris: **If it were none of my business, I wouldn’t be here.

**Marcus: **I’m finished with this… If you get in my way again, I’ll end you once and for all, just like I did Franz Josefa. Consider that a promise.

_Marcus pulls a sphere from his pocket before throwing it onto the ground. Smoke fills the area. The Black Eagles begin to cough wildly, and You do the same._

**Seraphine: **Hey! Come back! You can’t get away that easily!

_Your vision begins to fade to black. You fall forwards, unconsciousness taking over your mind…_

_You feel You are dreaming when You next see something. You are standing in the village You just helped to save, though You look much younger than You are currently. You look around, seeing many people bustling around in excitement. You look at your hands, seeing they are rather small. A woman appears nearby, and You look up._

**???: **Come on, Rion… Join me, please. We have to find a place to stay for the night.

_The woman has an air of familiarity to her, and You feel as if You have met her recently. Her voice is similar to Evenor’s, making You gasp in surprise. You see a shadow dart past, and when You look, You see a child no older than three running around. She has green hair, and it takes You a moment to realize this is Seraphine._

**Seraphine: **Rion! Come on! Play!

_You look in between Seraphine and Evenor. Seraphine disappears into thin air when You do not follow her. Evenor takes your hand and drags You into the town. Your vision turns to mist, and everything fades to black…_

_When You open your eyes once again, You see the students standing above You alongside Herwig. You are in a hotel, as far as You can tell._

**Herwig: **I’m glad to see you awake again…

**Hegias: **I was so worried…

**Polly: **I believe that gas was made up of some variation of dark magic. If one experimented the right way, creating a smoke to knock people unconscious would be possible.

**Aquillus: **If the people of this village hadn’t been so kind… I don’t think we’d be in this situation, to say the least.

**Zelhira:** They’re all gone now. The gas was a distraction to allow them a moment to retreat.

**Chris: **I don’t know who their leader was, but he dropped this… I got it just before I lost consciousness. Here, Professor.

**Polly: **We’re lucky you’re up at all with how horrid your lungs can get…

_Chris hands You a piece of paper. On it, the word ‘MALICE’ is written in threatening capital letters._

**Florence: **Malice… What could that mean?

**Callisto: **Is it the name of the group they belong to?

**Tuncay: **They did this strategically. It wasn’t a random attack… I wish I could tell you the reason though.

**Chris: **P-Professor? Are you alright? You look rather pale…

_You say You had a dream while You were unconscious, and You believe it to be a sign of a lost memory._

**Herwig: **Do go on and explain what you saw.

_You explain the dream, starting with the woman who You believe was Evenor. She was treating You like a mother would her child. After that, You explain a girl with green hair running off into the woods near the town, though You intentionally choose to not mention that You have been seeing this girl for some time._

**Hegias: **You… You knew Evenor?!

**Callisto: **And you were in this village at some earlier date… Does anybody have ideas as to what this could mean?

**Florence: **How old were you in that dream?

_You say You were likely around fifteen years old. You also mention how nobody else seemed to be able to see the girl with green hair._

**Zelhira: **You know, the goddess has green hair as well. Perhaps she was the little girl you saw in the dream… Or maybe it was some other variation of her…

**Herwig: **Dreaming of the goddess…

**Hegias:** Evenor never mentioned having meeting you before… Perhaps you parted ways before I met her.

**Tuncay: **Who would have guessed that a gas would trigger your brain this way?

**Polly: **I think we should keep it in mind. Plus, we know the name of the group who attacked us. We need to relay this information immediately.

**Chris: **They’re more than just bandits. I can’t imagine their goals, but this was organized and premeditated.

**Aquillus:** I believe they’re involved with last month’s mercenaries. Their armor was rather similar.

**Callisto: **But what could the link be?

**Zelhira: **First, their target was Ms. Hepius. Now, they attack a village she once came to. What if she’s the reason for all this?

**Hegias:** I don’t understand why somebody would hate her so much though…

**Florence: **She certainly has something to do with the professor. Why else would she be in that dream?

**Chris: **If it really did happen, then we have to remember this. She needs to be questioned on the matter next time we see her.

**Polly: **It’s vital that we get back to the archbishop immediately. We know a lot more than we did before.

**Herwig: **The church will be sending this village money to help them rebuild their home. We’ll leave soon enough to go and relay this message to the church.

**Tuncay: **Professor, are you going to be okay to walk back? I can help you if you need me to.

_You stand up and see if You feel dizzy. When You do not, You nod._

**Tuncay: **Good. We can’t have your condition getting worse after what you’ve already been through.

**Herwig: **It’s time for us to set off.

**Chris: **Understood.

_Everyone begins to leave the room, and You follow behind them. Chris walks alongside You._

**Chris: **I wish I could tell you what happened here today. It was clearly motivated, but I can’t tell why… They retreated, meaning they’ll be back. Plus, they seem to have been involved in the death of Franz Josefa. We’ve learned a lot here today.

_You tell her You will find out the truth together._

**Chris: **Thank you for saying so, Professor… I’ll see you later.

_Chris walks away, and Seraphine appears next to You._

**Seraphine: **This is too much for me… Those men were involved in the assassination plot for sure. It’s too much of a coincidence. They hate the Faerghus royal family and happened to be seen in the battle that took the life of Magnolia’s father…

_You nod. You have discovered a lot today._

**Seraphine: **I hope it’s not selfish of me to be thinking more about what we saw in that dream though… Was that truly a memory? It would explain why Ms. Hepius asked if we remembered her, but… I don’t know why we would be with her in a Faerghus territory… And that little girl was me, but I was so young… You seemed to be a teenager at the time. What could have happened? I don’t understand, but I want to know…

_You don’t hear Seraphine say anything on the way back to the monastery. She seems to be lost in her own thoughts about what You saw in that dream. You do not ask her about it. After returning to the monastery, You go to report what You have learned to Aisa._

**Aisa: **Ah, Professor… I see you have returned. Did you learn anything new today?

_You explain how You saved a village from being attacked by the soldiers._

**Aisa: **I am glad to hear no one was killed in today’s battle… Is there anything else I should know?

_You tell her your suspicions about the group, which called itself Malice, being involved in the death of the previous king of Faerghus._

**Aisa: **Ah… It appears you know the truth about Franz Josefa’s death… I assume Chris told you… After he died, I was told the truth about what happened when he was killed. I didn’t realize it would ever come to this… The group who killed him disappeared soon afterwards and wasn’t seen again up until recently. I had my suspicions they were tied in with the group that attacked Ms. Hepius last month, but I had no proof… Thank you for telling me this.

_You ask her if there is anything else she needs of You._

**Aisa: **No… Not that I can think of. The church will do its best to investigate the two parties you have fought up to this point. Until we come to a conclusive answer about what should be done, we are going to go on as usual. You should return to your students. They are waiting for you.

_You nod to Aisa and leave the room, not saying a word about the dream You had. You do not know if it is a good idea to tell the truth to her until You know the truth. You walk to the Black Eagles homeroom silently, seeing the students inside once again._

**Herwig: **With the mission finished, it’s time for us to rest.

**Callisto: **We learned a lot from the mission, but I don’t know how to feel about it all.

**Aquillus: **The soldiers got away. I doubt that’s going to be the last we hear from them.

**Florence:** I’m sure that we’ll see them again, and when we do, we’ll be ready.

**Zelhira: **Until we see them again, we should get ready. We can’t be caught unprepared when the time finally comes to face them once more.

**Tuncay:** We have to be prepared if we want to defeat them.

**Polly:** I wish we had been able to finish things today, but if the universe objected, that’s fine. We’ll just have to finish it next time.

**Florence: **We don’t know when they’ll next appear before us. We need to be prepared for when they finally do crawl out from under their damn rock.

**Chris:** I was thinking this year would be peaceful, at least relatively so… But I guess not. The idea makes me sick to my stomach.

**Hegias: **I definitely need a breather after all of this… I need to get into contact with Evenor as soon as possible after learning what we have here today.

**Herwig: **In all my years of teaching, no year has ever turned out this way.

**Hegias: **However, we can’t do much right now. The church will learn all they can, and until they tell us everything, we’ll just have wait and go about life in a somewhat normal cycle. I don’t like the idea either, but what can we do?

**Callisto: **We can’t train now though. I’m going to hit the hay.

**Florence: **I don’t know if I’ll even be able to sleep with everything we’ve learned… But I’ll do my best to catch some rest.

**Aquillus: **May the people of Aster be given the chance to restore and recover after this attack… It’s the least they deserve.

**Zelhira: **If all goes well, they won’t go back to Aster territory so long as they think we’re a danger to their plans.

**Hegias: **You know, unless they want to see another close battle.

**Tuncay:** I just want to knock their damn heads in already…

**Polly: **For now, it’s time to sleep.

**Hegias: **Until tomorrow.

**Chris:** Goodnight, everyone… Professor.

_Chris looks at You oddly on the way out, and You can tell that she is thinking of the death of the king of Faerghus. You do not dwell on it though, instead watching the students leave. You follow them out before heading back to your room. Seraphine appears again once You arrive._

**Seraphine: **I thought I had a pit in my stomach after last month, but this takes the cake… I just want all of this uncertainty to be over… But it doesn’t look like that’s going to be happening anytime soon. Why don’t we try and get some sleep until then? Yeah… Yeah, that sounds like a good idea… I can’t tell if I want to find out the truth about our shared past or not at this point. That dream scared me, you know… I don’t know what to think about it… I’m sure we’ll have to face it one way or another, but… I’m not ready. Until then, goodnight, Professor… May we figure out the truth together soon.

_You go to sleep soon after, though it takes You quite some time to drift off. The uncertainty of the future is too much for You to immediately fall unconscious. What could that dream have meant? What is the truth behind this faction called Malice? What does Malice want, and why did attacking a village suit their goals? You eventually fall asleep, though it is restless. No new memories are gleaned from your rest, and You feel sick. Thankfully, You have the next day off. That is a minor blessing, but it is all You seem to have in this time of turmoil and fear… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter three will be over next week. Man, I'm so excited.
> 
> In my early writing, I'm almost done with chapter four. Chapter four is the longest yet, but it's going to be great. Increase the hype!
> 
> -Digital


	21. Chapter Three: Bygone Era I (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You learn more about the soldiers dressed in black before exploring the monastery.

_You wake up on the first day of month six, the Blue Sea Moon. It’s time for your third mission to be given out, and You are more ready than ever before._

**Seraphine: **Ah, it’s good to know that we’re finally getting the chance to do something… You know, since we consciously know that we’re doing something this month instead of being surprised when odd invaders appear. We’re still waiting for answers on the mercenary business… I guess all we can do is press on like nothing is wrong.

_You nod your agreement and begin to head for Aisa’s room. She is standing there with Roy, which You must admit You expected._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor.

**Roy: **We have already determined what your next mission will be. It will hopefully come with less surprises than last month’s task.

**Aisa: **There have been many attacks as of late in the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. Many smaller towns have been invaded by fighters dressed in black. They bear an emblem with a distorted version of the Crest of Blaiddyd.

**Seraphine: **The Crest of Blaiddyd… Come to think of it, isn’t that Magnolia’s Crest?

**Aisa: **They seem to bear a grudge against the Josefa line leading the Kingdom at this time…

**Roy: **These attacks have risen in popularity this past month, and we would like you and your students to provide aid to a few of the villages.

**Aisa: **Your goal is to go and defend some of these towns. Hopefully, it won’t involve any violence.

**Seraphine: **You said that last time, but we still had to deal with Adrestian mercenaries!

_You ask about the mercenaries from the attack the month before._

**Roy: **We are still conducting our investigation on the matter. Hopefully, we will have new information to give you regarding them soon.

**Aisa: **In the meantime, we ask that you help out these smaller towns. Can you do that?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **Good. Now, it’s time for you to choose a house for the month. Which house would you like to teach for the coming month?

_You reply with your answer: the Golden Deer._

**Roy: **You would like to side with the Golden Deer for the coming month?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I see. They should be in their homeroom, ready to hear your explanation of the mission.

**Roy: **Until next time, Professor.

_You thank them and leave, heading for the Golden Deer homeroom._

**Seraphine: **I wonder if these soldiers are at all related to the mercenaries we fought last month. Wearing all black with an emblem of the nation’s color… That’s too much of a coincidence for me. I think they’re connected somehow.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **But until the church can figure something out, we just have to wait around… How boring.

_You make your way to the homeroom. When You enter, the students are standing with Jill._

**Jill: **Greetings, Professor. It appears you’ll be with the Golden Deer in the next month. We’re happy to have you.

**Raithius: **Rumor has it we’re supposed to be checking out a group of soldiers in black that have been going on raids in the Kingdom. I heard some stuff about them, actually.

**Novalee: **Tell us everything you’ve heard of.

**Raithius: **They began attacking villages shortly before we came to the Academy. It became more intense last month while we were preparing to speak with Ms. Hepius.

**Adeline: **They all wear black armor. They have a distorted version of the Crest of Blaiddyd on their armor as well.

**Sofia: **Hm… Isn’t that odd? Does anybody know what the reason could that could be?

**Raithius:** I’m afraid not. I heard about all of this from my family before I came here, and the royalty of Faerghus is claiming to not be involved.

**Wolfgang: **What could possibly be the reason for that? I don’t understand.

**Cedric: **I wonder about their motives. What could professional soldiers want from small villages in the Kingdom?

**William: **I don’t know what their goal is, but they seem to know what they’re doing.

**Novalee: **We don’t know enough to figure out the full truth at this point.

**Raithius: **I guess we’ll just have to wait until we leave for the mission to find out.

**Cedric: **We might as well try to have a nice month until then.

**Adeline: **The future might be uncertain, but we can do our best to have a nice time…

**Jill: **I’m going to have us begin training again soon. We didn’t anticipate a fight before, but we know better than to be lured into a false sense of security now.

**William: **We need to be prepared for an ambush…

**Jill: **That, and if we see that a village is being attacked, we’re going to follow them and beat them up.

**Cedric: **So, conflict is more likely than it was before.

**Jill: **We need to be prepared when the time comes.

**Sofia: **I don’t know what to think of this month knowing we’re likely going to be fighting when we come across the enemy.

**Wolfgang: **It certainly does change your perspective…

**Novalee: **They wore all black, and they had a symbol from a noble house as well. It seems odd… 

**Lev:** So… You think they could be connected?

**Adeline: **I’m not sure what it could mean… We won’t be able to hear anything until the time to fight comes.

**Lev: **The good thing is that if the church figures anything out, we’ll hear it right off the bat.

**Sofia: **Do you want to talk to us more, Professor?

**Jill: **That’s all. The rest of the day is yours. See you later.

_The other students begin to walk away, but Raithius walks past and takes your hand in his._

**Raithius: **Professor, we need to talk… Come with me for a moment.

_You nod and follow him to a secluded area of the courtyard outside the Officers Academy homerooms._

**Raithius: **I know you haven’t remembered anything new from before you met me, Maggy, and Chris, so that means you don’t know much about Fódlan history. That being said, I have something to tell you about those soldiers… They’ve appeared in the past.

**Seraphine: **He knows them? But how could he possibly be familiar? I hope he’s not related to them somehow…

**Raithius: **The previous king of Faerghus died shortly before I was born. He was widely said to have been killed by bandits, but I don’t know if I believe that… In fact, I know I don’t. I have proof otherwise.

_You ask him what he means._

**Raithius: **When I was old enough to understand, I was told the truth about the death of the previous king. They were the soldiers wearing all black with a symbol like the Crest of Blaiddyd on their armor… It was only told to the royal families of each nation, and maybe the archbishop, and aside from them, nobody is aware of the truth.

**Seraphine: **So, the king was assassinated and not just killed in a casual fight. These soldiers had intent and went after him on purpose… This is starting to come together for me. It’s too much of a coincidence that both groups wore black armor. Plus, the group that we’re going up against this time worked to assassinate the previous king of Faerghus.

**Raithius: **Use it however you wish, just try to keep it on the down-low, will you?

**Seraphine: **What if those soldiers last month weren’t mercenaries? What if they were soldiers from a different faction, one bent on continental chaos? I’m starting to think things are a lot deeper than we ever could have expected.

**Raithius: **That’s all I had to say. I’ll let you enjoy the rest of your day now. See you around.

_Raithius walks away, leaving You alone._

**Seraphine: **I can’t be alone in thinking something fishy is going on… This is far too great a coincidence for me to pass by. You surely agree with me.

_You nod your agreement. You can tell something odd is taking place here, though coming to a conclusion is difficult since You have minimal information regarding the attackers._

**Seraphine: **I guess we can go on and enjoy the rest of our day for now… We can’t do much about all of this later. The least we can do is try and enjoy the remainder of the month until we are given further information to draw conclusions.

_You nod and begin to explore the monastery for the day in an attempt to pass the time until the next mission. You see Illona standing in the courtyard of the Officers Academy._

**Illona: **I don’t know what to do about the mercenaries we heard about… All we can really do is wait at this point, but I still want to know what’s going on…

_You assure her that things will work out soon enough once You are given the necessary information._

**Illona: **Yeah… You’re right. No worries, right…?

_The next person you see in the Academy courtyard is Lev. You approach him._

**Lev: **I somehow don’t know if this mission will be as peaceful as we heard in the past. I mean, we thought it would be peaceful last month, but look at how that turned out… All we can do is wait and see, I suppose.

_The final person in the Academy’s courtyard is Adrian, who is standing near the homeroom door to the Black Eagles._

**Adrian: **You know, when I was a student here last year, we did missions similar to what you’ve been doing up to this point… But it never really got quite this intense. It’s only been a month, and I already get the feeling something more is going on… I don’t like it.

_You leave the Academy courtyard and walk to the training hall. Once You arrive, You see Falon and Derric standing together._

**Falon: **With all that’s been going on, I feel like I haven’t had enough time to just train. It’s one way I kick back and relax. Derric, would you be up for a match?

**Derric: **Of course. It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to do such a thing as well.

**Falon: **My father taught me how to use an axe, and as far as I can tell, nobody has ever beaten him aside from my mother, and since you’re not her… Well, I hope you’re ready for this!

_You walk away from the training hall, going to the area where the lower floor of dorms is found. Standing alone outside the dorms is Zelhira._

**Zelhira: **I truly don’t understand the way your Crest works… I have been doing extensive research, but I can’t find any signs that Unio or the Crest of Flames has been seen in many years… I have heard that Crests can be artificially distributed… I wonder if that’s what’s going on.

_You tell her You do not know the truth._

**Zelhira: **I’m sure we’ll figure it out eventually… In the meantime, I guess we’ll just have to keep on with our missions.

_Further down the row of dorms, You run into Wolfgang._

**Wolfgang: **You know, I haven’t gotten any letters from my father recently… It truly is unfortunate. Granted, the delivery service isn’t the best in my town, so perhaps none have come out… Oh, well. I know he cares about me no matter what.

_You agree with Wolfgang before going down to the greenhouse. Inside, You run into Magnolia._

**Magnolia: **With all that’s been happening, I haven’t had the chance to speak with my mother much… It’s been years since we last had the chance to see one another due to my training… Magnolias are her favorite. That’s where my name comes from. I might have to take some of these for the next time I see her… I’m sure I’ll see her again soon.

_After finishing your conversation with Magnolia, You go to the upstairs dorm area. There, You run into Aquillus._

**Aquillus: **A person can only be born with a single Crest at once… If you have two, there must have been some way you were given a Crest after birth. I would do anything to have that ability…

_You ask if he would like it for himself._

**Aquillus: **For me? No… I would have wanted to give it to my younger siblings back in the day. Of course, things have changed since then, but… I can’t help thinking about it, you know?

_You walk back downstairs to the main floor of the monastery. Near the fishing hole, You see Raithius and Novalee standing together._

**Raithius: **I can’t help but wonder if there’s a grand conspiracy going on here.

**Novalee: **Soldiers wearing black from different factions… It could seem like mere coincidence, but no official territory army wears such. There has to be a connection.

**Raithius: **So far, only Faerghus and Adrestia have seen issues… I hope they don’t spread as far as Leicester. We’ve got enough on our hands as it is.

**Novalee: **We already have enough drama with all the feuding nobles… I do wish they’d stop being so petty.

_You leave Raithius and Novalee before walking up to the entrance hall. Inside, You see Polly and Kyle standing together._

**Kyle: **Why, don’t you look stunning today?

**Polly: **You really don’t need to flatter me this way.

**Kyle: **Who says I’m really just flattering you? I’m speaking my mind.

**Polly: **Somehow, I don’t know what to think.

**Kyle: **Please, my fine lady… Would you like to go out to tea?

**Polly: **Forgive me for pretending you didn’t ask me that. I have other business to take care of anyways.

**Kyle: **Alas… A tragedy.

_You go to the dining hall next, which is where You run into Herwig._

**Herwig: **I have been exchanging letters with my sister recently… Her name is Erika. She lives in a smaller church in Faerghus. I’m rather worried about her given all the attacks recently. She was here in the major church up until a few months ago… I pray we can reunite soon.

_You walk away from Herwig and approach Nora._

**Nora: **Back in the day, I saved some merchants from attackers. The word on the street is that they were bandits, but I don’t think that’s the case now. To be perfectly honest, I think they might be connected to the faction we’re dealing with this month. After all, they wore that armor… I don’t know what to think at this point.

_Nearby, You run into Wynne and Piers eating together._

**Wynne: **I wish we were allowed to go on this mission with the students… It’s boring just sitting around here.

**Piers: **Normally, we would be tasked with an important mission like this. Leaving it up to the students isn’t something Lady Aisa normally does… I think she has something else up her sleeve.

**Wynne: **Why do you think she’d want us here?

**Piers: **I think she’s scared the monastery will be attacked… I don’t like that idea, but it’s the only one I can think of.

**Wynne: **At least we’re not in trouble now, right?

**Piers: **Yeah… That counts for something.

_You leave the dining hall and enter the reception hall. Inside, You see Tuncay._

**Tuncay: **I really don’t understand the nobility system here. I come from a territory outside the continent, and none of us have cared much for Crests or titles. I really can’t comprehend why a noble would want something so badly that they’d risk combat by sending out mercenaries… Nobles really don’t have a wink of sense, huh?

_You walk away from Tuncay, approaching Aestlyn, who is standing nearby._

**Aestlyn: **I just got a letter from my parents back in Faerghus. They’ve been struggling a lot with our territory seeing attacks recently. It’s the soldiers in black… I wish I knew what they wanted. I just want my family to be safe, but that won’t be happening until after these fighters are dealt with and finished off.

_The final person in the reception hall is Yuliya, who is standing alone._

**Yuliya: **I wish I knew what was going through the archbishop’s head with all this… Why is she sending you and your students out to take care of things?

_You suggest it might be because some students have personal connections with the incidents._

**Yuliya: **Maybe… Still bugs me she won’t use the knights for anything.

_You walk to the cathedral, and on the bridge over there, You encounter Chris and Hegias. If the Black Eagles were followed in the previous month, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **Hegias, do you have any ideas as to why Ms. Hepius hated me so much?

**Hegias: **I’m afraid not. I sent her a letter to ask, but she hasn’t yet responded…

**Chris: **I don’t know what I did to her… It bugs me though. We had never met officially up to this point.

**Hegias: **I don’t understand it either… But if I hear anything, I’ll be sure to tell you as soon as possible.

**Chris: **Thank you, Hegias.

_If the Black Eagles were not followed the previous month, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **I heard the new professor has two Crests… Any ideas as to why that is?

**Hegias: **No… But I trust Evenor. She knows what she’s doing with Crest information. After all, she told me I had a Crest when I previously didn’t know.

**Chris: **Wow… It’s odd to think there might be people at our school who don’t know they have a Crest since they never received a proper diagnosis.

**Hegias: **It is strange… I’d love to figure out if there are any hidden Crests here.

_In the cathedral, You encounter Callisto and Adeline talking._

**Callisto: **Hey, Adeline! I’ve been seeing you dancing a lot since we first arrived here. You can’t hide it from me!

**Adeline: **Callisto, I really haven’t…

**Callisto: **I can see it! You have to teach me some of those moves. What do you say? We can meet up in my room later on this month.

**Adeline: **I clearly can’t deny it at this point, so… Fine. Let’s do it.

_Also standing in the cathedral is Cassia._

**Cassia: **I wonder what the soldiers could possibly want… Motivations are peculiar things… They can change a lot about how you view a given thing. I’m sure they have their reasons for going after such villages, but… I would love to know now.

_You leave the cathedral, walking to the nearby knights’ hall. Inside, You see Karim and Miriam._

**Karim: **Come on, Miriam. Why won’t you spar with me?

**Miriam: **When I fight, it is to the death only. I don’t do it for fun. Bloodshed should not be treated so lightly.

**Karim: **But sparring and training can be used to help you with that!

**Miriam: **I gave you my answer already, Karim. You can find someone else.

**Karim: **Alright, alright…

_The final person in the knights’ hall is Cordelia._

**Cordelia: **With all that’s been going on, we knights really haven’t seen much activity. It’s unfortunate, but there isn’t much we can do about it. I think all we can do is go on like everything is normal… I’m sure we’ll have a chance to take care of things soon enough.

_You agree with Cordelia before heading south to the stables. Florence is standing next to her pegasus, Faith._

**Florence: **Faith has been with me since before I came here… She means the world to me. I could never leave her behind… I truly don’t understand how some can mistreat their steeds so. You need to form a connection with them. It’s vital to fighting.

_You agree with her._

**Florence: **It’s all about the way you can work in harmony… If you can get along, everything becomes easier. It’s the perfect system!

_The second person in the stables, William, is standing on his own._

**William: **These soldiers have been appearing in both the Empire and Kingdom up to this point… I wonder what the reason could be. Is their avoiding Leicester on purpose, or is there no reason behind it? I guess we’ll just have to see if we can find that out later on.

_You approach the final person in the stables, Cedric._

**Cedric: **I wish I knew what to do about these attacks. There’s clearly something more going on with it, but… Oh, well. I’m just going to have to train even more than usual to make sure that everybody stays safe. I’d hate to lose somebody this way. We all deserve to live through all of this.

_You head upstairs to the second floor of the monastery. You see Jill standing outside of her room._

**Jill: **I don’t understand any of what’s been going on. If this really is a conspiracy, why did it take so long to come to light? Whoever is planning this, whoever is pulling the strings, knows what they’re doing… There must be a mastermind. Do you agree?

_You nod._

**Jill: **We’ll just have to find them… I’ll be counting on you when that day comes.

_You enter Reese’s room and see him sitting at his desk, reading a paper._

**Reese: **I have received reports of where these soldiers have been striking. This should make it easier to figure out where they’ll be striking next. It will allow us to defend their next target. I just hope no other lives are lost in the meantime.

_You walk to the library, curling around the outside of the upper floor. You see Nesreen and Niko standing together._

**Niko: **Attacks in the Kingdom… Have you learned anything new?

**Nesreen: **No. I already told you everything I knew. Lady Aisa gave me the go-ahead to tell you, but I think she was distracted… Somehow, I think she knows something about these soldiers.

**Niko: **How odd… I wonder how she could be familiar with them. I guess we won’t know until we hear it straight from her… Be careful while you’re out in the field gathering information for us, Nesreen.

**Nesreen: **I will… Promise.

_Also in the library, You see Rodain sitting at a table._

**Rodain: **So much has been going on lately… I want to know who is responsible. When I was a student at the Academy so many years ago, we never had to deal with anything like this. It’s strange… What makes this year so special?

_You walk out of the library and enter the cardinals’ room, where You see Kaeta and Sofia standing together._

**Sofia: **You’re a knight, right?

**Kaeta: **I’m still training, but yes.

**Sofia: **You look adorable… Perhaps we should go out sometime. I know I can always enjoy a cup of tea more when I’m there with another girl.

**Kaeta: **Well, isn’t that sweet… You sure do seem more genuine than that Kyle kid. He’s a funny one.

**Sofia: **Of course I’m genuine. I love appreciating beauty.

**Kaeta: **Thank you! You’re just the sweetest!

**Sofia: **How does tonight sound?

**Kaeta: **Great to me!

_You walk to Aisa and Roy’s room in the main area of the upper floor. The two are standing together._

**Aisa: **You have done very well in your missions up to this point… I expect this month to be no exception.

**Roy: **These Faerghus fighters… They certainly are more than meets the eye. You’ll need to be careful.

_You assure him You will watch out for the students._

**Roy: **I appreciate you saying that. Until next time, Professor.

**Aisa: **Good luck in the coming month. We’ll be counting on you.

_You finish your conversation with Roy and Aisa as Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **Man, I’m tired… Time to call it quits for today. Sleepy time, Professor!

_You walk back to your room, falling asleep nearly instantly. Seraphine falls asleep as well. You can’t help but wonder what the coming month will hold, but You know You have a bad feeling about these soldiers in black… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter time! 
> 
> Chapter three is ending today so next week it's chapter four time
> 
> -Digital


	22. Chapter Three: Bygone Era II (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You set out to Aster territory to stop the soldiers in black.

_The day before your mission to track down the soldiers in black, You stand in the Golden Deer homeroom with the students and Jill._

**Jill: **We have received new information from Nesreen. The soldiers in black are moving on a village in Aster territory. It’s a Faerghus province governed by the family of our own Aestlyn. We’re going to rescue the village in tomorrow’s strike.

**Adeline: **Aster territory… What could they want there?

**Cedric: **We won’t let anything bad happen. I refuse to let more innocent people suffer.

**Raithius: **Enough people from Faerghus have seen harm by these people. Let’s end it once and for all.

**Wolfgang: **They’re incredibly selfish for attacking others to gain something.

**Sofia: **We took care of last month’s mission without any problems. We have this all under control.

**William: **This is bound to be a relatively easy mission. I’m sure of it. We’re all rather skilled now anyways.

**Novalee: **Looking at it that way might put us in danger. We can’t go in too confident. It could be the death of us.

**Lev: **We’ve been training for this. We can do it… I hope…

**Sofia: **We’ve grown a lot since our last battle anyways. The training has really been helping us out a lot.

**Adeline: **I hope you’re right…

**Cedric: **We should try and be confident, right?

**Lev: **Getting too cocky could hurt us a lot more than we expect… Try not to think that way, alright?

**Wolfgang: **It’s getting late now anyways. I think we should all turn in now to get ready for the mission.

**William: **Night, everybody.

**Jill: **We don’t have a moment to lose. Be sure you’re prepared for when we set out.

**Novalee: **These cowards deserve all we can give them for going after innocent people this way… 

_The students all leave alongside Jill save for Raithius. He stays behind and whispers to You before departing._

**Raithius: **I wonder if they’re really responsible for the death of Franz Josefa… If so, we’re dealing with some incredibly dangerous people. We’ll need to be on our guard. Sleep well, Professor. We’ll need you to be ready for tomorrow.

_As Raithius leaves, Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **He’s acting much more serious than usual… I can’t blame him though. You should get some rest before tomorrow. We don’t have a moment to lose. Tomorrow is a big day.

_You nod your agreement and make your way back to your room before falling asleep for the night, wondering what the future will hold…_

_The next morning, You arrive at the class’s homeroom, ready to set out on your mission._

**Jill: **We’re going to finish our last preparations and then set out.

**Raithius: **We can’t stick around for too much longer and all that, right?

**Cedric: **I think it’s time for us to eliminate those soldiers in black permanently. They can’t be allowed to harm anyone else.

**Adeline: **It’s happened enough already…

**Sofia: **Then let’s just kick them out. They’ll be running away and licking their wounds before they know it.

**Wolfgang: **Off we go then! Alright. In that case, let’s take care of business!

**Novalee: **Don’t get too excited. We have to be cautious. Confidence is good, but too much of it is a bane rather than a boon.

**Lev: **Do you really think we can pull this off?

**Wiliam: **Of course we can. It’s not like we can change our minds at this point anyways, even if we wanted to.

_The group leaves the Officers Academy and Garreg Mach behind to walk to Aster territory. The whole way there, You can’t help but think about the mission at hand. Could this faction truly be involved with the assassination of the previous king? What could their goal be?_

_When You arrive in Aster territory, You see a group of soldiers in black raiding a village._

**Jill: **That’s them. They’re going after that town. We have to save the people immediately.

**Adeline: **We can’t let this go on for any longer.

**Cedric: **For the people in there, let’s fend them off!

**Raithius: **Deer, we fight!

_The battle begins. The Golden Deer are already seeming more experienced than the month before. You cast your gaze to the leader of the force, a man wearing all black with a mask to hide his face. The mask shows a variation of the Crest of Blaiddyd. His name is Marcus._

**Raithius: **You must be the leader of this motley crew. Who are you?

**Marcus: **Forgive me for interrupting your duties, Prince. I’m simply doing what I must to make a living around here. Does it conflict with your morals?

**Raithius: **I may not know what your full plans are, but that won’t stop me from bringing them to a close.

**Marcus: **Make as many empty promises as you wish.

_The battle continues around You. You and your class fight back well, saving many villagers along the way as You attempt to cut through the enemy forces to take on Marcus._

_If You initiate combat with Marcus, this dialogue plays out._

**Marcus: **You’re sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong… I don’t know what you’re playing at here, but by allying with the royal family, I’m going to have to end your life. My apologies.

_If Raithius initiates combat with Marcus, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **I’d like answers, if you don’t mind. Who do you think you are?

**Marcus: **You’re just a child. How can I expect you to understand? Our plans are far too great for you to comprehend.

**Raithius: **Don’t change the subject!

**Marcus: **I’m done talking. Let’s get this over with.

_If anyone else initiates combat with Marcus, this dialogue plays out._

**Marcus: **Pests, the whole lot of you… You know what we do with pests? We squish them!

_When Marcus is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Marcus: **Ugh… This is not the end… It will not be over until we decree it is…

_After the battle, Raithius stands over Marcus with the rest of the Golden Deer.You stand nearby as Raithius points his sword at Marcus’ throat._

**Raithius: **Tell me what’s going on. Now.

**Marcus: **It’s none of your damn business…

**Raithius: **It clearly is since we’re here fighting you.

**Marcus: **I’m finished with this… If you get in my way again, I’ll end you once and for all, just like I did Franz Josefa. Consider that a promise.

_Marcus pulls a sphere from his pocket before throwing it onto the ground. Smoke fills the area. The Golden Deer begin to cough wildly, and You do the same._

**Seraphine: **Hey! Come back! You can’t get away that easily!

_Your vision begins to fade to black. You fall forwards, unconsciousness taking over your mind…_

_You feel You are dreaming when You next see something. You are standing in the village You just helped to save, though You look much younger than You are currently. You look around, seeing many people bustling around in excitement. You look at your hands, seeing they are rather small. A woman appears nearby, and You look up._

**???: **Come on, Rion… Join me, please. We have to find a place to stay for the night.

_The woman has an air of familiarity to her, and You feel as if You have met her recently. Her voice is similar to Evenor’s, making You gasp in surprise. You see a shadow dart past, and when You look, You see a child no older than three running around. She has green hair, and it takes You a moment to realize this is Seraphine._

**Seraphine: **Rion! Come on! Play!

_You look in between Seraphine and Evenor. Seraphine disappears into thin air when You do not follow her. Evenor takes your hand and drags You into the town. Your vision turns to mist, and everything fades to black…_

_When You open your eyes once again, You see the students standing above You alongside Jill. You are in a hotel, as far as You can tell._

**Jill: **Thank the goddess you’re finally awake…

**William: **You really did worry us for a moment there.

**Wolfgang: **I think they used some kind of dark magic to make that gas. It knocked us all out immediately. It could be possible if you dabble in the right things.

**Adeline: **I’m just glad they’re gone. If we hadn’t been taken in by the people of this village, I don’t even want to imagine what would have happened.

**Novalee:** They used the gas as a distraction to retreat. There aren’t any of them left.

**Raithius: **Their leader… He dropped this when he was running away. I was lucky to grab it before I passed out.

_Raithius hands You a piece of paper. On it, the word ‘MALICE’ is written in threatening capital letters._

**Sofia: **What is that supposed to mean?

**Cedric: **Perhaps it’s the name of their group.

**Lev: **Malice… I’m sure they had a reason for this. I just don’t know what it is.

**Raithius: **Professor, are you alright? You look ready to pass out again.

_You say You had a dream while You were unconscious, and You believe it to be a sign of a lost memory._

**Jill: **Really? Go on.

_You explain the dream, starting with the woman who You believe was Evenor. She was treating You like a mother would her child. After that, You explain a girl with green hair running off into the woods near the town, though You intentionally choose to not mention that You have been seeing this girl for some time._

**Lev: **You knew Ms. Hepius before we met her last month?

**Adeline: **On top of that, you were here in this village when you were younger… What could it all mean?

**Wolfgang: **How old were you in the dream?

_You say You were likely around fifteen years old. You also mention how nobody else seemed to be able to see the girl with green hair._

**Cedric: **The goddess… She has green hair as well, or so the legends say. Maybe she, or at least some version of her, was the person you saw.

**Jill: **You dreamt of the goddess…

**William: **I can’t say for sure what this could mean, but if you ask me, that probably happened years ago, back before you lost your memory.

**Lev: **I never would have imagined that sort of event to trigger a memory…

**Novalee: **We should remember it for future reference. Between hearing about the group’s name and that dream, this is a lot of valuable information.

**Raithius: **Malice… Do you think they could hold a grudge of sorts? I mean, I don’t know why else they’d attack. They were clearly more than regular bandits.

**Novalee:** If you want my opinion, they’re connected to the mercenaries from last month. They wore the same armor.

**Sofia: **How could they be connected?

**Wolfgang: **They went after Ms. Hepius first, and now, they’re targeting a village she visited years ago with the professor… Maybe she’s why the village is being attacked.

**Adeline: **I wish I had the answer so easily.

**Lev: **Ms. Hepius must be involved with the lost memories… It’s the only reason she’d appear in a dream alongside the professor…

**Raithius: **I’m sure it felt hyperrealistic for you to come to the conclusion that it was in the past… How else would you dream it?

**Lev: **We need to report back to the archbishop as soon as possible. We’ve learned a lot here today.

**Jill: **The church owes this village compensation for what happened today. We’ll head out shortly, assuming there are no objections to that idea.

**Sofia: **Professor, do you think you can walk back to the monastery? I’m happy to help you if not.

_You stand up and see if You feel dizzy. When You do not, You nod._

**Sofia: **Phew! We don’t need you getting sick on us or anything after all we’ve already gone through.

**Jill: **Come on. We need to go.

**Raithius: **In that case, off we go.

_Everyone begins to leave the room, and You follow behind them. Raithius walks alongside You._

**Raithius: **I don’t know what these men could have possibly wanted, but I feel as if they had a plan. They knew what they were doing, and when we got in the way of fulfilling it, they ran… I would like to know the truth as soon as possible. Plus, they… I’m sure they were connected to the death of the king of Faerghus. They have to have been involved.

_You tell him You will find out the truth together._

**Raithius: **Yeah… You’re right. We’ll have a chance to show them what we’re made of soon enough. Until then, have a nice day.

_Raithius walks away, and Seraphine appears next to You._

**Seraphine: **This is too much for me… Those men were involved in the assassination plot for sure. It’s too much of a coincidence. They hate the Faerghus royal family and happened to be seen in the battle that took the life of Magnolia’s father…

_You nod. You have discovered a lot today._

**Seraphine: **I hope it’s not selfish of me to be thinking more about what we saw in that dream though… Was that truly a memory? It would explain why Ms. Hepius asked if we remembered her, but… I don’t know why we would be with her in a Faerghus territory… And that little girl was me, but I was so young… You seemed to be a teenager at the time. What could have happened? I don’t understand, but I want to know…

_You don’t hear Seraphine say anything on the way back to the monastery. She seems to be lost in her own thoughts about what You saw in that dream. You do not ask her about it. After returning to the monastery, You go to report what You have learned to Aisa._

**Aisa: **Ah, Professor… I see you have returned. Did you learn anything new today?

_You explain how You saved a village from being attacked by the soldiers._

**Aisa: **I am glad to hear no one was killed in today’s battle… Is there anything else I should know?

_You tell her your suspicions about the group, which called itself Malice, being involved in the death of the previous king of Faerghus._

**Aisa: **Ah… It appears you know the truth about Franz Josefa’s death… I assume Raithius told you… After he died, I was told the truth about what happened when he was killed. I didn’t realize it would ever come to this… The group who killed him disappeared soon afterwards and wasn’t seen again up until recently. I had my suspicions they were tied in with the group that attacked Ms. Hepius last month, but I had no proof… Thank you for telling me this.

_You ask her if there is anything else she needs of You._

**Aisa: **No… Not that I can think of. The church will do its best to investigate the two parties you have fought up to this point. Until we come to a conclusive answer about what should be done, we are going to go on as usual. You should return to your students. They are waiting for you.

_You nod to Aisa and leave the room, not saying a word about the dream You had. You do not know if it is a good idea to tell the truth to her until You know the truth. You walk to the Golden Deer homeroom silently, seeing the students inside once again._

**Jill: **And with that, the mission is done. It’s time for us to rest after all that happened.

**William: **We figured out a lot more than I expected to, but I still feel unsure…

**Adeline: **We got rid of the soldiers from Malice, but I don’t think that’s all we’ll hear of them.

**Sofia:** I have a horrible feeling that you’re right… That we will see them again.

**Wolfgang: **Well, there isn’t much we can do until they appear again. Until then, we need to get ready for the next encounter.

**Lev: **If this really isn’t the end, we’ll have to be on our guard.

**Cedric:** I don’t like that we’ll have to deal with them once more, but… Oh, well. We’ll just have to take it in stride.

**Novalee: **Preparation is the key here. It’s time for us to get ready, as we don’t know when they’ll next appear.

**Raithius:** I always assumed this school year was going to be about finding our places in the world and making a name for ourselves… I guess life is just a bit more complicated than that.

**Sofia: **I think we deserve a moment of peace after all we’ve had to put up with. That’s the least the universe can do for us, if you ask me.

**Jill: **I’ve been teaching for a while, but I’ve never had a year turn out like this.

**Novalee: **But there’s not much we can do to fix it at the moment. The church is going to have to see if they can find any further details. Until they come to us, all we can do is wait and continue on with our training.

**Cedric: **Still, no more training for tonight. I’m going to bed.

**Wolfgang: **Gods above, I agree… I’ve had enough of all this. My stomach is a knot because of all that happened.

**Adeline: **I pray for the people of the Aster territory… May they be allowed to recover from all of these tragic incidents.

**William: **They’re probably finished with Aster lands. They won’t go back if they think there’s a chance we’ll show up.

**Sofia: **Unless they want another close call like that, they’re done.

**Lev: **I hope you guys are right… The idea of seeing them again makes me sick.

**Novalee: **We’ll find out more soon enough. For now, we all need to rest.

**William: **I’ll be seeing you all later.

**Raithius: **Night, Professor.

_Raithius looks at You oddly on the way out, and You can tell that he is thinking of the death of the king of Faerghus. You do not dwell on it though, instead watching the students leave. You follow them out before heading back to your room. Seraphine appears again once You arrive._

**Seraphine: **I thought I had a pit in my stomach after last month, but this takes the cake… I just want all of this uncertainty to be over… But it doesn’t look like that’s going to be happening anytime soon. Why don’t we try and get some sleep until then? Yeah… Yeah, that sounds like a good idea… I can’t tell if I want to find out the truth about our shared past or not at this point. That dream scared me, you know… I don’t know what to think about it… I’m sure we’ll have to face it one way or another, but… I’m not ready. Until then, goodnight, Professor… May we figure out the truth together soon.

_You go to sleep soon after, though it takes You quite some time to drift off. The uncertainty of the future is too much for You to immediately fall unconscious. What could that dream have meant? What is the truth behind this faction called Malice? What does Malice want, and why did attacking a village suit their goals? You eventually fall asleep, though it is restless. No new memories are gleaned from your rest, and You feel sick. Thankfully, You have the next day off. That is a minor blessing, but it is all You seem to have in this time of turmoil and fear… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so chapter three ends
> 
> -Digital


	23. Chapter Four: Unlamented Sin I (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You explore the monastery after hearing about Lord Bazler.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: This is the Black Eagles version now. I messed up the first time and posted the Blue Lions version at first. Oops.

_At the start of the next month, the Blue Sea Moon, You wake up and prepare for the work ahead of You. You begin your walk to see Aisa, Seraphine appearing at your side._

**Seraphine: **I can’t stop thinking about that dream we had… It was nothing like we had experienced before then, and it’s not like we’ve seen anything since either. It’s like it’s all on the tip of my tongue, but I don’t know what to do about it.

_You shake your head. You do not know what to do either._

**Seraphine: **Let’s go and see the archbishop though… I bet she has something important to tell us given that it’s kind of her job to tell us what to do.

_You arrive at the room where Aisa is most of the time. She is standing with Roy as usual._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor. I come with good news.

**Seraphine: **Unless that good news has to do with Malice or that dream we had, I don’t want to hear it right now. I’m kind of on a mission here.

**Aisa: **We have figured out the truth behind those mercenaries who attacked you on your first official mission of the year. The mercenaries from Adrestia were from Bazler territory. It is a Crestless house that has not seen any Crest bearers in many generations.

**Seraphine: **Crestless noble houses? I didn’t even realize those existed. Everything in this world seems to be all about the Crests. Can you blame me for thinking that?

**Aisa: **A rebellion is set to begin soon. While you were on your mission this past week, Nesreen searched the area. She found proof of a pending rebellion in the form of letters from Lord Bazler. You are to help suppress this rebellion.

**Roy: **However, there is one other important thing for you to know.

**Seraphine: **What could be more important than telling us about Malice? We figured out where one of the groups came from. Sounds pretty important to me.

**Roy: **This mission was not given by the church itself. It’s from the emperor of Adrestia.

**Seraphine: **Woah! Of all the things I expected to hear, that wasn’t it!

_You ask about the Adrestian Emperor._

**Aisa: **Hendrix von Faixnoye has been ruling over Adrestia for more than thirty years. He is one of the most powerful men in all the land… Even foreign powers cannot compete with him.

**Roy: **He requested that the students suppress the rebellion as opposed to sending out his own soldiers to do so. Your class, whichever one you select, will be defeating the rebels at the emperor’s request.

**Seraphine: **Somehow, I don’t think this is going to be easy… Just knowing that the emperor asked us to do this really lays on the pressure.

_You ask to hear more about Hendrix._

**Aisa: **He is known for having one of the longest rules in recent memory, no matter the kingdom.

**Roy: **He’s also been called stubborn in the past, though I suppose it’s all a matter of perspective regarding how you think of him. However, it cannot be doubted that he leads a powerful empire.

**Aisa: **Now, it’s time for you to select a house. Which one will you choose for the month?

_After thinking on the matter, You arrive at a conclusion: the Black Eagles._

**Roy: **You wish to follow the Black Eagles this month?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I’m glad to hear you’re so ready. Now, you should go and speak with the members of your class to see what the plan is for the coming month.

_You nod and start to walk to the homeroom. Seraphine appears next to You._

**Seraphine: **The emperor… I wouldn’t have expected somebody so important to turn to children like us. If you ask me, he’s just doing this so he won’t have to bother with it. I mean, he has the superior military might, so why bother with us?

_You shrug uncertainly._

**Seraphine: **I don’t know. Maybe I’m just jumping to conclusions. Let’s go on and see the kiddos.

_You walk into the Black Eagles homeroom. Herwig is inside with the other students._

**Herwig: **Greetings, Professor. Welcome.

**Polly: **I take it you heard we’re working with the emperor this month.

_You nod._

**Zelhira: **Back when the attack on Ms. Hepius took place, she was attacked by Adrestian mercenaries from the Bazler territory. Now, it seems they intend to incite a rebellion against the emperor.

**Aquillus: **The emperor wants us to fight them… Hm. I find it odd that he’d ask us to do such a thing when he has an entire army at his disposal.

**Seraphine: **That’s what I’m saying!

**Tuncay: **I’m sure he has his reasons, though I don’t know what they could be. Let’s ask him when we see him at the end of the month.

**Florence: **Those mercenaries must be involved with that Malice group… I hope we can get rid of them once and for all. Malice has caused enough problems up to this point.

**Callisto: **I agree. Now that we know what we’re dealing with, we know how ready to be.

**Tuncay: **But they’ve surely grown a lot since the last time we saw them.

**Zelhira: **Tuncay is right. We’ve been developing all this time, but so have they.

**Hegias: **We should take them out for the sake of all the people they’ve hurt.

**Aquillus: **I feel the same way… It’s just another case of the nobility getting hungry with power and going mad. It’s the same thing you hear every other week.

**Florence: **I’m not part of a noble house, so maybe I’m jumping to conclusions, but I think they’re acting like brats.

**Hegias: **That might be improper to say, but nobles shouldn’t hurt innocent people just for their own selfish gains… That crosses a line.

**Polly: **Then we’ll just have to show him what we’re made of. How does that sound?

**Callisto: **Sounds good to me! Let’s kick some tail!

**Herwig: **We don’t know much else about the mission, but the next time that we gather as a class for the mission, we’ll be meeting with the emperor. He’ll be the one giving us a briefing on the mission before we set up.

**Florence: **I’d love to hear about why he wants us to take care of this as opposed to, you know, professional soldiers.

**Tuncay: **Whatever his reasons are for it, I don’t think we’ll like them much.

**Chris: **If I know my father, he’s doing it because he wants to see what we’re capable of. If he thinks we’re strong enough, he might try and recruit some of you for ‘the glory of Adrestia’. If it isn’t that, then he’s doing it because he’s too lazy to send out his own soldiers or wants to handle things without too much risk to himself.

**Callisto: **I forget you’re related to the man sometimes. I’ve heard about how harsh he is towards everybody, but you’re so gentle.

**Polly: **There really isn’t much of a resemblance between them.

**Hegias: **Regardless, there isn’t anything we can do yet. We should start training as soon as possible.

**Herwig: **I don’t have much of anything to say for the rest of the day. Feel free to spend the remainder of the day however you wish.

_Most of the students leave with Herwig, but Chris stays behind with Polly. You stay with them._

**Polly: **Professor, you can go on and leave. We’ll take care of things without any issues. Don’t worry.

_You shake your head and comment on how quiet the two were during the briefing._

**Chris: **Let’s just say that I’m not excited to see my father again…

**Polly: **Are you sure you’re okay with sharing this…?

**Chris: **The professor isn’t going to blabbing about this. Don’t worry about it. You can go on and leave. I’ll handle it, and I can catch up with you later.

**Polly: **If you’re positive…

_Polly hesitates before walking out, leaving You alone with the house leader of the Black Eagles._

**Chris: **Just… Be careful around my father. Don’t let him get to you. In fact, don’t show him a fraction of the way you really feel about anything. Hide everything. Don’t let him get attached to anything.

**Seraphine: **Wow… She really doesn’t seem to like her father much. I wonder why.

_You ask Chris why she is so concerned._

**Chris: **Um… To put it nicely, we don’t really get along. He focuses on things I truly wish he wouldn’t, and while there’s not much I can do about it, I truly hate the way he manages my life.

**Seraphine: **But that still doesn’t explain details!

_You ask for more details._

**Chris: **I-I’d rather not get too deep into it, but… We got into a fight shortly before I came here to the academy, and it caused a lot of stress between the two of us. He doesn’t even want to look at me, much less say anything. We’re enjoying our time apart right now, though it doesn’t look like that’s going to last… Anyways, I hope you have a nice day, Professor. I should get going.

_Chris walks away quickly._

**Seraphine: **Sounds to me like there’s more to this emperor than meets the eye. I mean, I don’t know how we’re going to get any other information out of her, but we should make an attempt to do so. Something is clearly going on here.

_You nod your agreement but point out that You won’t be getting any answers until Chris grows more comfortable with You._

**Seraphine: **That’s true… I guess we should just enjoy our time off for now. We can think about this more later.

_You agree with her and begin your day of exploration around the monastery. In the courtyard outside the Officers Academy, You run into Cassia._

**Cassia: **Malice… It’s clear we’re dealing with an organized party that spans at least two nations. I can’t help but wonder what their goals could be… But I suppose only time will tell. In the meantime, all we can do is work hard.

_You walk away from Cassia to approach Hegias, who is also in the courtyard._

**Hegias: **I don’t know what these mercenaries have been doing, but it’s clear they’re dangerous. I can’t believe they went after Evenor the way they did… I can’t wait to see them taken out. I hope that’s not bad of me to say.

_You assure him that it’s alright._

**Hegias: **Thank you, Professor… It just upsets me they’d go after the innocent this way, you know?

_You turn to the final person in the courtyard, who happens to be Adeline._

**Adeline: **I can’t help but wonder… If this Malice group is already in Adrestia and Faerghus, there must be some people working with them in Leicester too. I mean, that would make sense… This isn’t my way of saying I want to believe it. Don’t make that mistake. I just… It seems likely to me.

_After You finish in the courtyard, You move to the training hall. Inside, there are two people talking. Upon further inspection, You realize they are Sofia and Falon._

**Sofia: **Well, aren’t you tough as can be, Fally?

**Falon: **Sofia, you flatter me. I just do the work I need to in order to improve.

**Sofia: **Flattery or not, I’d love to learn more about the way you fight. Perhaps we should spar together. We could join each other for tea soon after…

**Falon: **Teatime? That sounds lovely! Training and having tea are always much more fun when they’re with friends, wouldn’t you agree?

**Sofia: **Yes… Friends…

**Falon: **Did you say something?

**Sofia: **Nope!

_You leave the training hall and move to the first floor of dorms. You see Aquillus standing against a pole._

**Aquillus: **Malice… I checked any books I figured would be useful for potential references of this group. I didn’t find anything. As far as I can tell, they’ve only become a recent threat. I can’t help but wonder what their purpose can be… Hm. How strange.

_Further down the row of dorms, You see Kaeta._

**Kaeta: **It would be an absolute dream to attend the Officers Academy one day… Unfortunately, for somebody like me, a commoner, that’s just a dream. Unless you’ve got the cash to send somebody here, that dream is just a dream. Makes you wonder if the system is really alright if it’s based purely off how much gold one owns.

_The final person on the first floor of the dorms is Nesreen._

**Nesreen: **I’ve been rather active recently in finding new information. It’s been a while since any messenger was sent out this much back to back. Something is clearly wrong in the world if things are going this way… Hm. I wish I knew the answers everyone is seeking.

_You head upstairs to the second floor of dorms. You see one pair of people at the far end of the hallway. It’s Chris and Polly, You realize._

**Chris: **I can’t believe we have to see him again…

**Polly: **I wish it wasn’t the case either. We know how he can get.

**Chris: **That’s an understatement… Condoning harassment for his own personal gains is far beyond just ‘how he gets’. On top of that, he seems to look at every woman he isn’t related to with a sexual gaze… He disgusts me.

**Polly: **But we can’t say anything publicly… For now, we’ll have to lay low. We’ll find a way out of this soon enough. I promise.

**Chris: **I hope you’re right…

_Sensing the two are discussing something, or rather, someone serious, You leave them in peace and go back downstairs to enter the greenhouse. Inside, You run into Adrian._

**Adrian: **The plants of this continent are so different from what I’m used to… It’s been a year since I was back home, but I’m still not used to seeing so much that I’ve never seen before. It’s the reason I set out to begin with, but it still catches me off guard.

_You ask Adrian about his home._

**Adrian: **Oh, I’m from Brigid. It’s a territory near Adrestia. Maybe I could take you there one day.

_You leave the greenhouse to investigate the fishing hole. There, You see a variety of people, though the first one You encounter is Yuliya._

**Yuliya: **I’ve been working here for years, but I still feel like I’ve never gotten what I deserved… How much can someone take before they want to snap? Just give me a damn raise so I don’t have to keep buying the cheapest food in existence!

_Yuliya seems to be ranting to no one in particular, so You decide to leave her be. Next, You approach Wolfgang._

**Wolfgang: **You know, I didn’t know much of anything about fishing before I came to the monastery. Back home, there weren’t any rivers or streams to fish in, so I hadn’t ever tried it before coming here… The school really is changing my life.

_After finishing your conversation with Wolfgang, You approach a final pair standing on the docks: Rodain and Derric._

**Rodain: **Malice seems to be some sort of conspiracy group. I would love to learn more about them.

**Derric: **I wouldn’t be so cheery. They’re dangerous. If we get too close, something could happen.

**Rodain: **But I want to know why the knights haven’t been sent out to deal with them yet! We could handle it!

**Derric: **I have no doubt of that, but it’s the archbishop’s choice at the end of the day. We have no reason to go against her, so we should listen to her words for now. If we have problems later, we’ll address them then.

**Rodain: **I hate it when you’re right…

_After finishing in the fishing hole, You decide to head to the dining hall. Inside, You see Aestlyn sitting at a table._

**Aestlyn: **I got a letter from my parents back home. They haven’t had any bandit issues since we drove off the Malice soldiers. That’s such a relief… I just hope they don’t come back anytime soon. They’ve dealt with enough as is.

_Sitting at another table nearby is Kyle._

**Kyle: **Aestlyn truly is the symbol of perfection and beauty… I’d love to get to know her better. Professor, do you have any advice for me?

_You suggest that he express his interest to her up-front._

**Kyle: **Hm… Solid proposal. Thank you, Professor!

_Another pair is sitting in the dining hall as well. You notice the two are Florence and Karim upon getting closer._

**Florence: **There’s so much to think about with all that’s happening… Do you have any ideas as to what’s going on?

**Karim: **Not a clue. I wish I could tell you what they were doing.

**Florence: **Mercenaries seem odd to use when a lord has their own army…

**Karim: **I agree. Perhaps we’ll just have to figure out what they’re up to ourselves.

**Florence: **And if we don’t learn anything officially on a mission, we can go and check it out together.

**Karim: **Sounds good to me!

_You leave the dining hall to head for the entrance hall. The first person You encounter once inside is Miriam._

**Miriam: **Malice… Hm.

_You ask if she is thinking about something._

**Miriam: **Me? Nothing. Don’t worry about me. Continue with your day.

_You leave Miriam alone, clearly seeing she isn’t in a mood to talk. You move onto the next person in the entrance hall, who turns out to be Magnolia._

**Magnolia: **I’ve been thinking a lot about Malice from last month. If they really were involved with… Ahem… That incident back when I was little, then they’ve been active for all this time, and nobody was aware of it… They’re planning something huge. I can just feel it… I hope it doesn’t turn out to be too bad.

_You leave Magnolia to her thoughts before moving to the stables near the entrance hall. Cedric is tending to a horse._

**Cedric: **Hm… I can’t stop thinking about everything that’s been happening. It’s the duty of a noble to defend their people from evil, but what if the evil gets rid of the nobles? That makes things much harder… Regardless, I’m sure we’ll figure something out. We won’t go down that easily.

_Also in the stables is Cordelia, who is standing near a bag of hay._

**Cordelia: **I’ve heard of your skills from the students, you know. I know the knights and students haven’t had much of a chance to interact recently, but I hope that we’ll be able to get to know each other better someday soon. You’re an interesting fellow. Maybe you’ll become a knight one day… Now that’s something I’d like to see.

_After leaving the stables, You move to the knights’ hall. Inside is Callisto._

**Callisto: **I’ve been trying to learn more about how to fight recently. I mean, I know I can fight, but the knights do it for a living. I don’t think I’ll ever go that far, but I need to be able to defend the people who need it most. In a crucial moment, a savior is what you need… But they aren’t always there, so I’ll need to step up!

_The other person in the hall is Illona._

**Illona: **I’m getting better at using a bow these days… I think I’ve come a long way.

_You ask if she ever didn’t use a bow._

**Illona: **N-No… It was a… Um… Sudden decision. Yeah. Anyways, Professor, no need to worry about me. I won’t hit anybody with arrows. Promise!

_You allow Illona to continue her training before moving to the reception hall. Raithius and Novalee are together inside._

**Raithius: **Do you think Malice has gotten into Leicester as well?

**Novalee: **I don’t know for sure. Nobody can tell.

**Raithius: **This is bigger than just Faerghus. It’s been going on for over eighteen years.

**Novalee: **It appears your first acts as the archduke of the Alliance will involve this Malice party…

**Raithius: **Damn it. Why can’t anything ever be easy? Does it really need to be this complicated?

_The final person in the reception hall is William. You approach him._

**William: **Professor, have you done any research into this Malice group?

_You shake your head._

**William: **I decided to investigate, and I learned that soldiers in black armor with distorted emblems have been appearing for over fifty years now. That’s more than some lifetimes. What could it all mean? I don’t understand…

_You move from the reception hall to the cathedral. Once inside, You see Zelhira standing alone._

**Zelhira: **The goddess… Could she have truly appeared before you in a dream? If so, why? She must have had a reason to do so. Everything is done with purpose, no matter how small. Perhaps you bear some relation to the goddess. It would make sense given the Crest of Flames… That’s the Crest of the Goddess, you know. It truly is curious…

_You walk to Nora, the second of three students standing in the cathedral._

**Nora: **Now that we’ve dealt with some soldiers of Malice, I’m sure I once fought them. I saved merchants from an attack supposedly carried out by bandits, but I don’t think that’s the case anymore… Not when those ‘bandits’ look exactly like Malice soldiers. This isn’t a new concept, in other words.

_The final person in the cathedral is Lev, who is standing alone and looking up at the large statue of the goddess._

**Lev: **If the goddess really is out there, is she watching everything we do? Is she there to help us out of dark situations? I don’t know for sure… If she was, she wouldn’t be letting us fall into harm’s way so easily… It gives me a bad feeling.

_You leave the cathedral and go upstairs. In the hallway just outside the staircase, You see Tuncay._

**Tuncay: **The emperor, huh? This must be a pretty important mission if a man like that is requesting our help. I would have expected the year to start with bashing bandits, but it appears I was wrong. Hm… There’s nothing we can do about it but show him what we’re made of. Maybe he’ll have some offer to extend to us as thanks. Who knows?

_You walk down the hallway where the teachers’ rooms are located. Inside of Herwig’s room, You see the teacher of the Black Eagles sitting at his desk._

**Herwig: **I’ve received more letters from my sister about attacks on minor churches… Garreg Mach can’t just stand by and let all of this happen while followers of the Seiros teaching are suffering, right…? I do hope she finds a way to come here soon.

_You go to Reese’s room next._

**Reese: **There are no mentions of a faction called Malice in any books. I’ve done my research since the last mission. However, there are some books that tell of an army with armor of only black with distorted emblems… There’s more to this than meets the eye, and I will find the truth.

_You see Jill standing outside of her room leaning up against the wall._

**Jill: **We’re lucky there haven’t been any major injuries yet. What we’ve seen already is more than enough. This Malice group clearly knows what it’s doing, and I don’t mean that in a good way. If these are professional soldiers though, what could have swayed them against the path of righteousness? Who can say?

_For the first time, You see Roy in his room._

**Roy: **There’s a performing company in town right now… I’d love to go and see them. I have something of a love for dancing, you know. You’d never expect the archbishop’s assistant to be so interested in it, but that’s the truth. That’s actually how I found Lady Aisa to begin with… So much has changed since then.

_You move to the cardinals’ room as one of your last stops for the day’s exploration. Inside, You see Wynne._

**Wynne: **We knights have been told to explore the monastery as much as possible recently. It’s like the archbishop is suspicious of something happening. I don’t know what she could think will happen, but it’s obviously bothering her… How strange. And she’s making us stay so low-key too… She’s a funny lady.

_Also inside the cardinals’ room is Piers._

**Piers: **You can see a lot of the monastery from up here. Even with the world being thrust into chaos at the hands of this Malice group, some things never change. The view, for example… It’s always the same, no matter what the day is. I guess it’s good to have some normality.

_You go to the library, and, as expected, You see Niko inside._

**Niko: **I’ve been working overtime to find the truth behind this Malice faction. You wouldn’t believe how many people have come in here wondering if I have any books about what they’ve done in the past. Surprisingly enough, there is some information out there… I’ve been scouring it for clues, but I’m afraid I’m coming up short.

_You assure him he’ll find something soon._

**Niko: **Thanks, Professor. I’ll tell you if I find anything.

_You move to Aisa’s room as your final stop of the day. She is standing where she always does._

**Aisa: **I am truly proud of how you’ve been doing up to this point, Professor. You’re doing a wonderful job of settling into this new environment. If you need anything, you can always come to me. I’ll do everything I can to help you.

_You nod to her as Seraphine yawns, appearing at your side._

**Seraphine: **I’m tired… We do a lot of walking on these days off. Let’s head back and catch some rest. We deserve it. I hope we have another memory dream…

_You go back to your room and fall asleep soon after, Seraphine doing the same. While You do not have any new memory dreams, You still wonder about what the first one could have meant, but the answers still lie out of reach…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a day early since I'm going to be MIA tomorrow so yeet
> 
> -Digital


	24. Chapter Four: Unlamented Sin II (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Black Eagles set out to defeat the leader of the Bazler house at the request of the emperor, but you learn of a few startling details along the way.

_The night before the emperor arrives to give You your mission briefing, You are walking around the monastery when You come across Chris standing alone. You decide to approach her._

**Chris: **Ah-! H-Hello, Professor. How are you doing this fine evening?

_You ask her what she is doing out so late._

**Chris: **N-Nothing… O-Okay, I’m thinking about tomorrow. My father is going to be here… Just thinking about it makes me sick.

_You ask what her father is like._

**Chris: **I already told you at the beginning of the month not to get caught up in anything that he tells you. He’s been known to manipulate a lot of people. He’s come off as a great ruler of Adrestia who has done a lot for the nobles, but… There’s more to it than that. I’m not looking forward to seeing him.

_You tell her You would like more details._

**Chris: **I… Um… Professor, I don’t mean to offend, but I don’t think I can do that right now. I don’t want to anger him further. He hates me enough as it is. Besides, it’s getting late, perhaps we should both go to bed.

**Seraphine: **She’s definitely dodging the question. Press a bit harder!

_You follow Seraphine’s instructions and ask again._

**Chris: **I’m sorry. I need to keep this to myself, at least until the end of the mission. I don’t want your opinions to be influenced by me just because I don’t get along with him very well. I should probably let you form your own opinion on him anyways. It’s late enough as it is.

**Seraphine: **Isn’t she insistent on not saying anything?

**Chris: **Goodnight, Professor.

_Chris walks away, and Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **The more people talk about this emperor, the more afraid I get. He can’t really be that bad, right…? Then again, if his own child is so scared of him… I don’t know. I have a bad feeling about all of this.

_You nod your agreement before returning to your room. It has gotten rather late, and You have a big day ahead of You. Seraphine follows You, and You both fall asleep soon after in preparation for the day to come._

_The next morning, You and the students do not meet in the Black Eagles homeroom, but rather, outside of Aisa’s room on the second floor._

**Chris: **Well… Here we are. We’re about to get our orders from the emperor of Adrestia about our next goal.

**Herwig: **Are you alright? You look rather pale.

**Chris: **It’s not a big deal.

**Polly: **I just want to get this over with. We have a mission to take care of.

**Zelhira: **You don’t seem to like the man much.

**Florence: **I don’t know much about the emperor, but you two must know more about him than most people here. Is he really that bad?

**Callisto: **I heard he eats babies for breakfast.

**Aquillus: **That’s ridiculous. Nobody eats babies for breakfast.

**Chris: **He doesn’t eat babies. He eats the hopes and dreams of everyone he comes into contact with.

**Tuncay: **I don’t think that’s much better.

**Hegias: **This is the man Evenor worked for back in the day… I wonder what he’s like.

**Chris: **The answer is unpleasant. Incredibly unpleasant.

**Herwig: **Perhaps we should go inside now.

**Callisto: **Maybe he’ll have--

**Aquillus: **He won’t have babies in between his teeth.

**Florence: **Party pooper…

**Tuncay: **I can’t tell if that would make him better or worse.

**Hegias: **I think we should quit the chatter and go see him. If he’s telling us what to do, it must be important.

**Zelhira: **I agree. He must have a reason.

**Chris: **Whatever it is, don’t get swept into his words. If he offers you anything, deny it. No matter what. If he says he can offer you money for your services, turn him down. Don’t accept any offers of his.

**Tuncay: **Chess, you’re starting to scare us.

**Chris: **Just trust me on this, okay?

**Seraphine: **I don’t even know this man, but I already think I want to punch him.

**Polly: **Come on. Inside we go.

_The students enter the room alongside Herwig. You take up the rear. Inside the room, You see Aisa speaking with the emperor, Hendrix von Faixnoye. He is a tall man with black hair and brown eyes. He bears no resemblance to his daughter._

**Aisa: **Good morning, students. It’s a pleasure to see you. I take it you’ve already heard that you’ll be taking your mission today from the Adrestian leader.

**Hendrix: **Greetings.

**Chris: **Father… It’s nice to see you again.

**Hendrix: **…

**Aisa: **Why don’t you go on and give them their mission?

**Hendrix: **Of course… One lord within my territory has acted out against me. Lord Thaddeus Bazler is his name. He sent mercenaries to attack a Crest scholar two months ago. Your class was involved with that mission.

**Chris: **You had worked with her at one point, yes?

**Hendrix: **I’d like you to eliminate this lord and any of his remaining soldiers. Such dangers to the Empire cannot be allowed to live.

**Herwig: **Is there anything else you know about him, Your Majesty?

  
**Hendrix: **He has been attempting to overthrow Faixnoye rule for quite some time, though I never imagined he’d make such strides against the family directly.

**Chris: **Did he attack you directly?

**Hendrix: **Quiet, girl. Did I give you permission to speak?

**Chris: **…

**Seraphine: **Intense much…? Yikes.

**Hendrix: **You are to defeat him once and for all. Do not leave a single soldier alive. Those who wish ill against the royal family deserve nothing short of death.

**Hegias: **Um… Excuse me… Chris mentioned Evenor earlier. Did she really work for you at one point?

**Hendrix: **Yes, she did. She was researching Crests at my request until twelve years ago. I had no further need of her, and so I let her go.

**Hegias: **No further need of her…

**Chris: **Father, is there anything else you need of us?

**Hendrix: **What did I say about speaking out of line?!

**Chris: **M-My bad…

**Tuncay: **Let’s just go and take care of that noble. How does that sound?

**Hendrix: **Of course. Return to me once your mission is complete.

**Seraphine: **I can’t wait to leave. He’s so irritating to be around… What’s his deal? How rude can someone be?

_You ask Hendrix if he needs anything else._

**Hendrix: **No…

_He looks at You for a moment longer, his eyes narrowing._

**Hendrix: **You… Who are you?

_You explain that You are a professor for the Officers Academy._

**Hendrix: **I see… Leave at once. You have business to take care of.

_You start to leave with most of the students, but You see Chris is staying behind to speak with Hendrix for a moment longer. You hang back to see how it goes._

**Chris: **Father, please listen--

**Hendrix: **I have nothing to say to you. You disobeyed me, and you will live with the consequences.

**Chris: **I don’t even have a chance to prove that I’m loyal to you?

**Hendrix: **You deserve no chances. You have harmed the Faixnoye family greatly, and I will not be forgiving you for it.

**Chris: **Father, just let me--

**Hendrix: **Leave.

**Chris: **Please, I want to say sorr--

**Hendrix: **Go!

**Aisa: **Perhaps it is best if you go and carry out your mission for the month. There is no time to speak now.

**Chris: **I… I understand…

_Chris looks at him for a moment longer before walking away, brushing past You as she goes._

**Seraphine: **You should talk to her for a second. She looks pretty upset.

_You close the door behind yourself as You go before tapping her on the shoulder._

**Chris: **H-Huh? Oh, sorry, Professor. You shouldn’t have had to see that.

_You ask if Hendrix is always like that._

**Chris: **I guess you could say that… We don’t get along all that well, as I’m sure you could tell. Let’s just say that I made a horrible mistake before coming here, and he didn’t exactly take it well.

**Seraphine: **What could she have possibly done to make him that mad…? Do I even want to know?

**Chris: **My father has set me up with a man for an arranged marriage. He figured it was the perfect chance to expand our influence… He always pushed me to grow closer to my future partner, Arthur. I didn't want to. I spoke of my frustrations with Polly, and my father mistook it for me cheating on Arthur. It was nothing of the sort, but… He thought he had seen enough.

**Seraphine: **Why am I not surprised he jumped to conclusions like that?

**Chris: **I guess he hasn’t gotten over that grudge. It’s fine. If he doesn’t want to talk to me, then that’s his problem.

**Seraphine: **Somehow, I think there’s more to it than just that.

_You tell Chris You are happy to be there for her if she needs it._

**Chris: **I do appreciate it, Professor… Perhaps we should go on with the mission. I’ll deal with this later.

**Seraphine: **She has a point… I’m not eager to move on from this serious subject either, but… I guess we don’t have any other options.

**Chris: **Bazler isn’t going to be waiting for us. Come on.

_Chris leaves._

**Seraphine: **I don’t think I like the emperor at all after that conversation… Gods above, what an unpleasant man.

_You follow Chris silently, thinking about the emperor. Hendrix hasn’t given You a strong first impression, but You cannot call him out on it. That would be a recipe for disaster given his status as the leader of Adrestia. Instead, You remain quiet and keep in mind to stay away from him._

_A few hours later, You and the students arrive in Bazler territory to deal with the lord responsible for such a rebellion._

**Herwig: **Bazler… I’ve heard some unsavory rumors about him.

**Zelhira: **Rumors?

**Herwig: **He is known among the higher nobility for being ultimately unpleasant. There’s minimal evidence on this next assumption, but… Some believe that he might be involved with a human trafficking ring.

**Chris: **I’ve heard something similar… I didn’t want to say anything in case it was wrong, but…

**Aquillus: **What kind of monster are we dealing with?

**Polly: **I can confirm it. He does do such a thing, but he’s too powerful for anybody but the emperor to do anything about him. Of course, the emperor owes Bazler a debt, meaning he dares not get him in trouble. I don’t think he’s going to be standing up to save the captured people.

**Chris: **I’ve heard they’re mostly from Brigid and Dagda. They’re territories outside of the continent that went to war with Adrestia a few years ago. We’re at peace now, but… Bazler used the war as a perfect chance to sneak into Brigid and Dagda to do unsavory things.

**Tuncay: **What a monster… I’ll be looking forward to bashing his skull in.

**Hegias: **It appears we’re coming up on the mansion now.

**Chris: **Well… It looks like it’s time for us to head in there. Any last things to mention?

**Florence: **I want to impale him with my spear already. If he’s really been taking people to smuggle as slaves, he deserves everything that’s coming to him.

**Callisto: **Men like him disgust me…

**Zelhira: **Do you think we can get him in trouble for this rebellion with the emperor? If Bazler is going to attack the emperor’s child, then that must cancel out any deals they might have made ahead of time.

**Chris: **I guess we’ll just have to see.

**Tuncay: **Let’s go take care of it. I’m going to give him all sorts of hell for what he’s done.

**Florence: **Looks like we won’t have to wait long for him to see us. Look.

_Thaddeus Bazler appears on the horizon, mounted on a brown horse. His troops surround him. They’ve taken up a defensive position outside the territory’s mansion._

**Bazler: **Welcome, students of the Officers Academy!

**Chris: **Thaddeus Bazler… Pleasure to see you again.

**Bazler: **If it isn’t Miss Chris… What brings you here?

**Chris: **Orders to take your head.

**Bazler: **I see… If that’s the way it must be, perhaps we’ll just have to go along with that…

**Hegias: **There’s no chance of getting away now. Diplomacy isn’t going to work either.

**Callisto: **I don’t want to use diplomacy on a monster like him. He deserves death and everything else.

**Hegias: **I want to know why you attacked Evenor!

**Bazler: **Crests are valuable, kid. They’re power in its purest form. That Crest scholar has the key to giving and removing Crests freely…

**Hegias: **She can… What?!

**Tuncay: **Giving Crests? And you wanted that?

**Bazler: **She’s a traitor and a scoundrel… She brought it on herself.

**Hegias: **You--

**Florence: **Hegias, heel! We can’t let our emotions get the best of us now!

**Callisto: **I hope you’re ready to die, monster!

**Bazler: **Well, don’t you look nice… If you need somewhere to go after the school year--

_Callisto casts a fire spell at Bazler._

**Callisto: **Shut it!

**Bazler: **Feisty… Fine. If that’s how this has to be. Men! To battle!

**Zelhira: **That’s our cue.

**Herwig: **Students! It’s time!

_There are multiple types of soldiers seen around the battlefield. There are many soldiers wearing black armor, showing they are part of the group Malice. There are other soldiers wearing ragged clothing and using weapons that are barely held together. All fighters from the second group are underaged boys and girls._

**Chris: **Well… It looks like we’ve found proof of his trafficking activities.

**Polly: **Most of these youths look like they’re from Brigid, Dagda, or Albinea. They don’t want to fight us, but they’re being forced.

**Zelhira: **We should try to spare them if we can.

**Aquillus: **What a monster…

**Florence: **They’re all so young…

**Callisto: **Don’t fight the soldiers not in black armor! We’re going to free them!

**Hegias: **I can’t believe him…

**Tuncay: **Monster…

**Seraphine: **Are all nobles like this? They’re really coming off as unpleasant and awful, you know…

_The battle properly begins. The Black Eagles are already showing signs of growth, having learned to slash freely through the enemy. The group keeps the youthful soldiers not in black safe to the best of their abilities. If one of your units speaks with a youth, the youth will change to green and start trying to escape._

_If You speak to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Youth: **You’re here to save me?! Thank you so much! I’ll leave now!

**Seraphine: **There’s one down…

_If Chris speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **You… You’re one of the people Bazler took, aren’t you?

**Youth: **Yes…

**Chris: **Don’t fight us. We’re here to save you.

**Youth: **Thank you so much!

_If Polly speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Polly: **You’re not from around here… Halt your blade. We’re here to save you.

**Youth: **Thank you! I-I’ll get right out of here!

_If Zelhira speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Zelhira: **Lower your blade. I’m here to save you. Run away from this place. We’ll take care of Bazler.

**Youth: **Thank you, kind lady!

_If Florence speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Florence: **I can’t believe that monster is keeping you here… I’ll take care of him. You get out of here.

**Youth: **Alright! I’ll go now!

_If Callisto speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Callisto: **This monstrous man is keeping you locked up for his own purposes… Run.

**Youth: **Thank you so much…!

_If Hegias speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Hegias: **I’m not here to fight you. Please, run away. You don’t deserve to stay here.

**Youth: **Thank you!

_If Tuncay speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Tuncay: **I’m sorry it had to come to this… Leave. Run.

**Youth: **I-I will!

_If Aquillus speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Aquillus: **Words cannot describe how sad I am for you… Please, leave this place. I’ll defeat Bazler.

**Youth: **Thank you...

_If Herwig speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Herwig: **I’m here to keep you safe. Leave Bazler territory. Go, find a better life.

**Youth: **I-I will…!

_If all the youths escape, You will receive one item for each stat at the end of this fight. For every two youths killed, one item will be taken away._

_If You initiate combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**Bazler: **Well, what do we have here? A teacher from the school? Pathetic… You do look familiar though… Hmph. It matters not. Goodnight, Professor!

_If Chris initiates combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **You’re a monster for all of this… You deserve more than death.

**Bazler: **You say that acting as if your father hasn’t committed unspeakable horrors himself.

**Chris: **I never said I supported him.

**Bazler: **Isn’t that frisky to say…? You almost remind me of… Naomi…

**Chris: **Who is--

**Bazler: **The woman who was meant to be my wife… I have never loved another more. The instant I saw her in that church, I knew she had to be mine.

**Chris: **That’s disgusting!

**Bazler: **Say what you will! It doesn’t change the fact that you’re about to die!

_If Polly initiates combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**Bazler: **When I saw you at the palace, I always found you to be attractive, you know.

**Polly: **Well, it’s not reciprocated.

**Bazler: **Say what you want… If I had really wanted you, I could have had you… But you were clearly the emperor’s plaything.

**Polly: **You--!

**Bazler: **It doesn’t matter. Die!

_If Zelhira initiates combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**Bazler: **You look familiar… Like one of the women who passed through my territory… She was a beauty.

**Zelhira: **Excuse me?

**Bazler: **You’re practically her spitting image… How attractive you are…

**Zelhira: **Quiet, fiend. I will rip that tongue from your mouth for saying such things!

_If Florence initiates combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**Bazler: **Hm… How odd… That red hair isn’t common in Adrestia…

**Florence: **What are you on about?

**Bazler: **Red hair is more common in Faerghus… Specifically in a few noble houses I’m sure you’ve heard of.

**Florence: **I don’t understand, and I don’t need to! Die already!

_If Callisto initiates combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**Callisto: **You are the lowest and dirtiest of all men. None should ever resort to such means as a way of gaining the attention of others.

**Bazler: **Frisky…

**Callisto: **You’re disgusting! Perish and rot in hell, dastard!

_If Hegias initiates combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**Hegias: **What did you really want with Evenor?

**Bazler: **She had research she was meant to share with me, but she backed out. It was the only logical course of action.

**Hegias: **Why would she be involved with someone like you?!

**Bazler: **She’s a lot less innocent than you think…

**Hegias: **You… Shut up! Die already!!

_If Tuncay initiates combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**Tuncay: **People like you are the reason common folk can’t stand nobles.

**Bazler: **Perhaps you ‘common folk’ are heathens who deserve hell for not respecting those superior to you.

**Tuncay: **Perhaps we common folk should rise up and destroy those ‘superior to us’. All you nobles are the same. I’ve never met a good one.

**Bazler: **You never will… If you find me to be awful, that is. I’m the best there is.

**Tuncay: **Sure… Sure.

_If Aquillus initiates combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**Aquillus: **I can’t stand you… Monster.

**Bazler: **Say, aren’t you a noble yourself? A noble with a Crest, at that…

**Aquillus: **Why does it matter?

**Bazler: **Perhaps you could use my business when you come to power.

**Aquillus: **You won’t have the chance to offer your support. It’s time for you to perish.

_If Herwig initiates combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**Herwig: **I know quite a bit about you, Bazler… Too much, as a matter of fact.

**Bazler: **What about me?

**Herwig: **You know what a monster you are.

**Bazler: **Perhaps we can save this discussion for another time. Farewell.

_When Bazler is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Bazler: **Ugh… You’re… Terrible… Stains…

_After the battle, the group stands before Bazler._

**Bazler: **You’re all stains… Terrors to Adrestia…

**Chris: **Why did you rebel? I want the truth.

**Bazler: **The emperor is a fool… He pretends to be in power, keeping everyone under his thumb, but it’s never enough for him…

**Chris: **And that’s justification for starting a rebellion?

**Bazler: **He deserves this all… Everything that’s coming to him! The Faixnoye line has destroyed Adrestia for far too long!

**Chris: **I see… Crimes against the emperor will be met with death.

**Bazler: **I wouldn’t be so sure.

_Bazler claps his hands, and a small group of ambush troops appears from the trees. He gets to his feet and runs away. The Black Eagles struggle with the ambush troops for a few minutes as Bazler disappears off into the distance. Once their lord is gone, the troops leave, and the territory is abandoned._

**Seraphine: **We have to go after him!

**Tuncay: **Why aren’t we chasing him?!

**Herwig: **I… I’m afraid he must be let go… We have other business to take care of here.

**Chris: **Like freeing all the poor people he’s been using in his trafficking ring.

**Polly: **We don’t have a moment to waste then…

**Aquillus: **I can’t believe he was doing this for years and nobody stopped him.

**Hegias: **I don’t understand any of this…

**Callisto: **We’re not going to let him live for long. The whole empire is going to be on guard now.

**Florence: **I bet the emperor is going to go after him actively too.

**Zelhira: **He won’t get away with this…

**Chris: **Let’s get to work. We need to free all these people.

_The rest of the group walks away to get to work. Seraphine appears before You._

**Seraphine: **Thaddeus Bazler… What a monstrous pile of trash. He was keeping so many young people hostage here without a shred of regret.

_You think of how he never showed signs of caring for what he had done._

**Seraphine: **He wanted us all to die, and he was willing to sacrifice innocent, malnourished children to reach that end… Disgusting.

_A youth appears in front of You before You have a chance to reply._

**Youth: **Thank you for all you did for us today… Here. Take this.

_You receive all the stat items that You earned from the battle._

**Youth: **Goodbye. Thank you again.

_The youth walks away._

**Seraphine: **So hurt, and yet they still tried to do something for us… They really all did deserve better.

_A few hours later, the group arrives back at the monastery. In the primary chamber where Aisa regularly stays, there are three people. These three are Aisa, Roy, and Hendrix. They were not talking when You entered, instead merely standing in the silence and waiting for You to return. When You appear, Aisa looks up._

**Aisa: **Ah… Greetings, Professor. I see that you have returned from your mission.

**Roy: **What happened to Lord Bazler?

**Hendrix: **I hope you killed him. Any people who stand up against the empire deserve nothing short of death.

**Aquillus: **I… I’m afraid not.

**Herwig: **He managed to escape, but… We have found proof of his past crimes.

**Zelhira: **We uncovered a lot of evidence regarding his human trafficking ring.

**Polly: **When he is found, he can now be reliably prosecuted for his crimes.

**Hendrix: **I don’t care about that right now! He acted against the empire, and he cannot be allowed to live!

**Chris: **I-I’m sorry, Father… I promise you, I’ll--

**Hendrix: **You had better make up for this mistake. I won’t tolerate another failure.

**Chris: **I understand…

**Hegias: **He was confirmed to be the one who sent the mercenaries after Evenor a few months ago.

**Tuncay: **He claimed Crests ran the world, and that she had found a way to give people Crests.

**Florence: **But… That’s not possible… Right?

**Callisto: **If she’s been studying Crests for years, maybe she figured it out…

**Aisa: **I see… Church troops will make a move to arrest Lord Bazler as soon as possible.

**Roy: **Thank you for your work, students. You may return to your classroom now.

_The students all leave the room with Herwig save for Chris._

**Hendrix: **I must return to Adrestia now.

**Chris: **Father, I--

**Hendrix: **Don’t mess this up.

**Chris: **I… Okay. I won’t.

**Hendrix: **Farewell.

_Hendrix leaves._

**Chris: **Um… I’ll be on my way as well…

_Chris leaves._

**Aisa: **Thank you for your help, Professor. You have done a lot for the church on this day.

**Roy: **We will be working with the people you freed from Bazler’s territory to find better lives for all those taken.

**Aisa: **I had heard rumors of what he was doing, but I didn’t realize it was so expansive…

**Roy: **He has been doing such for twenty-five years, according to Nesreen. She relayed all the information your troops found on the field to us.

**Seraphine: **Twenty-five years?!

**Aisa: **There was much harm done by his lust for power… We won’t be able to do much for the people who have lived with this for their whole lives.

**Roy: **His father, the previous Lord Bazler, was involved in this as well. It has a fifty-year history in total.

**Seraphine: **I can’t believe nobody tried to stop him… What’s the point of the nobility system if it means some people are ruled over without a say? I mean, nobles are supposed to protect their territory, but they aren’t doing a good job if they let somebody get away with this.

**Aisa: **He had contact with a noble in Leicester, and as far as we are aware, he was tied with the previous king of Faerghus somehow. The connection is unclear…

**Roy: **We’ll be looking into this Leicester noble, Lord Wenlock Columbus, in case he merits further investigation.

**Aisa: **For now, please go on about your business.

_You nod and leave the room._

**Seraphine: **The emperor is a lot worse than we thought… For one, he mistreats his daughter. On top of that, he let Bazler get away with this until it directly inconvenienced him. Both sides are awful, but I see why somebody would want to rebel against him.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **Let’s just get to the classroom.

_When You arrive at the classroom, the students are all standing together with Herwig._

**Herwig: **That’s the end of this month’s battle… In my opinion, it was the largest in scale up to this point.

**Aquillus: **I’m exhausted after that…

**Zelhira: **We all need some time to think about the horrors of our nation after that fight.

**Tuncay: **This is why I don’t like nobles… They get mad with power and stomp over whoever they need to in order to get what they want.

**Hegias: **Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do to fight back… It would throw the empire into ruin.

**Florence: **Damn it all!

**Callisto: **I think we should try and forget about what happened today… That disgusting man…

**Polly: **I’m inclined to agree… I’m glad we were able to free those people, but I find it unfortunate that they had to endure his behavior up to that point.

**Aquillus: **And he’s still out there…

**Florence: **I hope he gets caught soon.

**Zelhira: **I’m sure he will be… We need to have faith in the church.

**Tuncay: **Sure… Fine. I’m done with this. Goodnight, everyone.

**Hegias: **My opinion of nobles has changed for sure… I’ll be on my way.

**Callisto: **Disgusting pig…

**Polly: **Goodnight, everyone… I hope you feel better.

_The students all head out with Herwig. The only other person in the classroom is Chris. You ask her what is on her mind._

**Chris: **All of this… It’s ridiculous. My father… I see he hasn’t relaxed in his hate of me after all this time. I’m not surprised, but it’s still disappointing.

**Seraphine: **He’s horrible to you…

**Chris: **Then there’s Bazler. His family was kidnapping people for fifty years. When war began between Brigid, Dagda, and the empire, he used it to his advantage to take war refugees under his thumb for his own purposes. If I had to guess, he used the king of Faerghus for the same purposes.

**Seraphine: **What does that mean?

_You ask her Seraphine’s question._

**Chris: **Faerghus went to war with one of its colonies about eighteen years ago… Albinea rebelled against Faerghus after its people were framed for killing the king. The common word was that bandits did it, but on official records, Albineans were executed for it. The king of Faerghus was known to hate people from Albinea. He led hunts for Albinean people, and he’d kill them if he found them to be a threat to Faerghus.

**Seraphine: **Maybe it’s good that he’s dead…

**Chris: **I bet that’s where the hostages from Albinea came from. I saw some that weren’t from Brigid or Dagda, and I bet that they were from Albinea, or more specifically, from the king…

**Seraphine: **Are any royals on this continent good people?!

**Chris: **You know… Today has only fueled my hatred of nobility and Crests. Bazler went mad with power since it was gifted to him. It was gifted to him since he was born noble. He also went after Ms. Hepius for her knowledge regarding Crests. He wanted to use it as a ploy to gain power and expand his influence… People should not be born and have their worth determined immediately. People are made by their experiences, not the blood in their veins. Everyone deserves to be treated equally.

**Seraphine: **It’s odd to hear a noble say something like that.

**Chris: **It’s not a sentiment shared among many nobles, but… It’s just how I feel. Crests are horrid, and nobles are just as bad, if not worse. Tuncay was right when they were disgusted… I hope I’m not sharing too much here.

_You assure her she is fine._

**Chris: **Thank you… Ah, it’s late. Sorry for keeping you so long. I didn’t mean to bring you into my ranting. I pray you can forgive me for speaking out of line. G-Goodnight, Professor.

_Chris leaves the classroom quickly._

**Seraphine: **I think we figured out the reason she’s so anxious today… Her father must be the reason she gets so worked up.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **I’m starting to wonder if any good nobles exist… Either way, it’s not something I can answer today. Let’s go to bed.

_You start back to your room. When You arrive, Seraphine doesn’t say anything about the events of the day. She goes to sleep without so much as a goodnight, which is abnormal for her. Given the events of the day, You suspect that for the second month in a row, Seraphine is questioning the way F_ _ódlan is run given the questionable state of the class system. You do not comment on it and go to sleep silently, though it takes You quite some time to sleep. Questions dance through your mind about the continent, its values, and the people who make it run. You hold doubts about Fódlan, but You do not voice them and let sleep claim You..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey fuck Hendrix and fuck Bazler they're both nasty
> 
> -Digital


	25. Chapter Four: Unlamented Sin I (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You explore the monastery after hearing about Lord Bazler.

_At the start of the next month, the Blue Sea Moon, You wake up and prepare for the work ahead of You. You begin your walk to see Aisa, Seraphine appearing at your side._

**Seraphine: **I can’t stop thinking about that dream we had… It was nothing like we had experienced before then, and it’s not like we’ve seen anything since either. It’s like it’s all on the tip of my tongue, but I don’t know what to do about it.

_You shake your head. You do not know what to do either._

**Seraphine: **Let’s go and see the archbishop though… I bet she has something important to tell us given that it’s kind of her job to tell us what to do.

_You arrive at the room where Aisa is most of the time. She is standing with Roy as usual._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor. I come with good news.

**Seraphine: **Unless that good news has to do with Malice or that dream we had, I don’t want to hear it right now. I’m kind of on a mission here.

**Aisa: **We have figured out the truth behind those mercenaries who attacked you on your first official mission of the year. The mercenaries from Adrestia were from Bazler territory. It is a Crestless house that has not seen any Crest bearers in many generations.

**Seraphine: **Crestless noble houses? I didn’t even realize those existed. Everything in this world seems to be all about the Crests. Can you blame me for thinking that?

**Aisa: **A rebellion is set to begin soon. While you were on your mission this past week, Nesreen searched the area. She found proof of a pending rebellion in the form of letters from Lord Bazler. You are to help suppress this rebellion.

**Roy: **However, there is one other important thing for you to know.

**Seraphine: **What could be more important than telling us about Malice? We figured out where one of the groups came from. Sounds pretty important to me.

**Roy: **This mission was not given by the church itself. It’s from the emperor of Adrestia.

**Seraphine: **Woah! Of all the things I expected to hear, that wasn’t it!

_You ask about the Adrestian Emperor._

**Aisa: **Hendrix von Faixnoye has been ruling over Adrestia for more than thirty years. He is one of the most powerful men in all the land… Even foreign powers cannot compete with him.

**Roy: **He requested that the students suppress the rebellion as opposed to sending out his own soldiers to do so. Your class, whichever one you select, will be defeating the rebels at the emperor’s request.

**Seraphine: **Somehow, I don’t think this is going to be easy… Just knowing that the emperor asked us to do this really lays on the pressure.

_You ask to hear more about Hendrix._

**Aisa: **He is known for having one of the longest rules in recent memory, no matter the kingdom.

**Roy: **He’s also been called stubborn in the past, though I suppose it’s all a matter of perspective regarding how you think of him. However, it cannot be doubted that he leads a powerful empire.

**Aisa: **Now, it’s time for you to select a house. Which one will you choose for the month?

_After thinking on the matter, You arrive at a conclusion: the Blue Lions._

**Roy: **You wish to follow the Blue Lions this month?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I’m glad to hear you’re so ready. Now, you should go and speak with the members of your class to see what the plan is for the coming month.

_You nod and start to walk to the homeroom. Seraphine appears next to You._

**Seraphine: **The emperor… I wouldn’t have expected somebody so important to turn to children like us. If you ask me, he’s just doing this so he won’t have to bother with it. I mean, he has the superior military might, so why bother with us?

_You shrug uncertainly._

**Seraphine: **I don’t know. Maybe I’m just jumping to conclusions. Let’s go on and see the kiddos.

_You walk into the Blue Lions homeroom. Reese is inside with the other students._

**Reese: **It’s nice to see you, Professor.

**Falon: **So, we’re going to be working with the Adrestian emperor this month?

_You nod._

**Aestlyn: **When students from the monastery were sent to save Ms. Hepius, the attackers were Adrestian mercenaries sent by Lord Bazler… Now, his thoughts are on starting a rebellion to claim more power within the empire.

**Karim: **I don’t understand why he’s sending us. He’s the most powerful man in Fódlan. Doesn’t he have an army of his own?

**Seraphine: **That’s what I’m saying!

**Nora:** I’m sure he has a reason for making such a choice… I just don’t think I understand what it could be… How odd.

**Cassia: **The mercenaries were probably involved with Malice. If they were involved, then that must mean that Bazler is wrapped up in them too.

**Illona: **We’re going to need to be ready for this…

**Kyle: **I bet they’ve grown their forces greatly since our last meeting.

**Aestlyn:** As we’ve been growing, they have as well…

**Falon: **It’s time for us to take them out. This is the least we can do for the people they’ve harmed in the past.

**Cassia: **In this case, it’s more nobles going mad with power… I wonder how many times this has happened… It’s not too unpopular at this point.

**Nora: **They’re acting like spoiled children… Maybe I’m a bit biased since I don’t belong to a noble house, but…

**Illona: **No, I must agree. Harming innocent people… It’s not okay. We need to do something to ensure that this does not repeat again.

**Falon: **I guess we’ll just have to kick his ass all around then! If he wants to fight back, then we’ll do the same!

**Karim: **Sounds fine by me!

**Reese: **We don’t have much information on this mission, I’m afraid. When we get our briefing, it will be from the emperor. He wanted to tell us himself what we’ll be doing when we go in to defeat Bazler once and for all.

**Nora: **I don’t know why he wants us to do it. He’s got countless soldiers to take care of if instead of us.

**Illona: **I don’t care what his reasons are at this point… I just want to get this over with…

**Magnolia: **I’ve heard a lot about him in the past, though I’ve never gotten the chance to meet him in person. I’ve heard he recruits capable fighters often to expand his power. He sends out his fighters to destroy any who might pose a threat to his power. It’s odd to think that he’s related to one of the most gentle people in the Academy…

**Falon: **It’s odd to think of. They don’t look alike, and they sure as hell don’t act similarly. He’s ruthless and solemn while she’s shy and kind.

**Illona: **Saying there’s no resemblance is an understatement…

**Karim: **We can’t do anything to fight back as it is right now. We just need to prepare for the time being and wait for the day of the mission to come.

**Reese: **I was going to say the same… There’s nothing else for us to do today, so feel free to have a good time. Class dismissed.

_The students leave with Reese, and You follow after them. However, soon after leaving, You are approached by none other than Chris._

**Chris: **Um… Professor? Can we talk for a moment?

_You tell her that should be okay._

**Chris: **Thank you… I know I'm not in your class for the month, but I have an important thing to tell you before you meet with the emperor.

**Seraphine: **Not even ‘my father’. Just ‘the emperor’. I don't like that. Something is up.

_You agree with Seraphine but let Chris lead You to a quiet corner of the monastery._

**Chris: **I'm sorry to be cutting into your free time like this, but… Be careful around my father. Don’t let him get to you. In fact, don’t show him a fraction of the way you really feel about anything. Hide everything. Don’t let him get attached to anything.

**Seraphine: **Wow… She really doesn’t seem to like her father much. I wonder why.

_You ask Chris why she is so concerned._

**Chris: **Um… To put it nicely, we don’t really get along. He focuses on things I truly wish he wouldn’t, and while there’s not much I can do about it, I truly hate the way he manages my life.

**Seraphine: **But that still doesn’t explain details!

_You ask for more details._

**Chris: **I-I’d rather not get too deep into it, but… We got into a fight shortly before I came here to the academy, and it caused a lot of stress between the two of us. He doesn’t even want to look at me, much less say anything. We’re enjoying our time apart right now, though it doesn’t look like that’s going to last… Anyways, I hope you have a nice day, Professor. I should get going.

_Chris walks away quickly._

**Seraphine: **Sounds to me like there’s more to this emperor than meets the eye. I mean, I don’t know how we’re going to get any other information out of her, but we should make an attempt to do so. Something is clearly going on here.

_You nod your agreement but point out that You won’t be getting any answers until Chris grows more comfortable with You._

**Seraphine: **That’s true… I guess we should just enjoy our time off for now. We can think about this more later.

_You agree with her and begin your day of exploration around the monastery. In the courtyard outside the Officers Academy, You run into Cassia._

**Cassia: **Malice… It’s clear we’re dealing with an organized party that spans at least two nations. I can’t help but wonder what their goals could be… But I suppose only time will tell. In the meantime, all we can do is work hard.

_You walk away from Cassia to approach Hegias, who is also in the courtyard._

**Hegias: **I don’t know what these mercenaries have been doing, but it’s clear they’re dangerous. I can’t believe they went after Evenor the way they did… I can’t wait to see them taken out. I hope that’s not bad of me to say.

_You assure him that it’s alright._

**Hegias: **Thank you, Professor… It just upsets me they’d go after the innocent this way, you know?

_You turn to the final person in the courtyard, who happens to be Adeline._

**Adeline: **I can’t help but wonder… If this Malice group is already in Adrestia and Faerghus, there must be some people working with them in Leicester too. I mean, that would make sense… This isn’t my way of saying I want to believe it. Don’t make that mistake. I just… It seems likely to me.

_After You finish in the courtyard, You move to the training hall. Inside, there are two people talking. Upon further inspection, You realize they are Sofia and Falon._

**Sofia: **Well, aren’t you tough as can be, Fally?

**Falon: **Sofia, you flatter me. I just do the work I need to in order to improve.

**Sofia: **Flattery or not, I’d love to learn more about the way you fight. Perhaps we should spar together. We could join each other for tea soon after…

**Falon: **Teatime? That sounds lovely! Training and having tea are always much more fun when they’re with friends, wouldn’t you agree?

**Sofia: **Yes… Friends…

**Falon: **Did you say something?

**Sofia: **Nope!

_You leave the training hall and move to the first floor of dorms. You see Aquillus standing against a pole._

**Aquillus: **Malice… I checked any books I figured would be useful for potential references of this group. I didn’t find anything. As far as I can tell, they’ve only become a recent threat. I can’t help but wonder what their purpose can be… Hm. How strange.

_Further down the row of dorms, You see Kaeta._

**Kaeta: **It would be an absolute dream to attend the Officers Academy one day… Unfortunately, for somebody like me, a commoner, that’s just a dream. Unless you’ve got the cash to send somebody here, that dream is just a dream. Makes you wonder if the system is really alright if it’s based purely off how much gold one owns.

_The final person on the first floor of the dorms is Nesreen._

**Nesreen: **I’ve been rather active recently in finding new information. It’s been a while since any messenger was sent out this much back to back. Something is clearly wrong in the world if things are going this way… Hm. I wish I knew the answers everyone is seeking.

_You head upstairs to the second floor of dorms. You see one pair of people at the far end of the hallway. It’s Chris and Polly, You realize._

**Chris: **I can’t believe we have to see him again…

**Polly: **I wish it wasn’t the case either. We know how he can get.

**Chris: **That’s an understatement… Condoning harassment for his own personal gains is far beyond just ‘how he gets’. On top of that, he seems to look at every woman he isn’t related to with a sexual gaze… He disgusts me.

**Polly: **But we can’t say anything publicly… For now, we’ll have to lay low. We’ll find a way out of this soon enough. I promise.

**Chris: **I hope you’re right…

_Sensing the two are discussing something, or rather, someone serious, You leave them in peace and go back downstairs to enter the greenhouse. Inside, You run into Adrian._

**Adrian: **The plants of this continent are so different from what I’m used to… It’s been a year since I was back home, but I’m still not used to seeing so much that I’ve never seen before. It’s the reason I set out to begin with, but it still catches me off guard.

_You ask Adrian about his home._

**Adrian: **Oh, I’m from Brigid. It’s a territory near Adrestia. Maybe I could take you there one day.

_You leave the greenhouse to investigate the fishing hole. There, You see a variety of people, though the first one You encounter is Yuliya._

**Yuliya: **I’ve been working here for years, but I still feel like I’ve never gotten what I deserved… How much can someone take before they want to snap? Just give me a damn raise so I don’t have to keep buying the cheapest food in existence!

_Yuliya seems to be ranting to no one in particular, so You decide to leave her be. Next, You approach Wolfgang._

**Wolfgang: **You know, I didn’t know much of anything about fishing before I came to the monastery. Back home, there weren’t any rivers or streams to fish in, so I hadn’t ever tried it before coming here… The school really is changing my life.

_After finishing your conversation with Wolfgang, You approach a final pair standing on the docks: Rodain and Derric._

**Rodain: **Malice seems to be some sort of conspiracy group. I would love to learn more about them.

**Derric: **I wouldn’t be so cheery. They’re dangerous. If we get too close, something could happen.

**Rodain: **But I want to know why the knights haven’t been sent out to deal with them yet! We could handle it!

**Derric: **I have no doubt of that, but it’s the archbishop’s choice at the end of the day. We have no reason to go against her, so we should listen to her words for now. If we have problems later, we’ll address them then.

**Rodain: **I hate it when you’re right…

_After finishing in the fishing hole, You decide to head to the dining hall. Inside, You see Aestlyn sitting at a table._

**Aestlyn: **I got a letter from my parents back home. They haven’t had any bandit issues since we drove off the Malice soldiers. That’s such a relief… I just hope they don’t come back anytime soon. They’ve dealt with enough as is.

_Sitting at another table nearby is Kyle._

**Kyle: **Aestlyn truly is the symbol of perfection and beauty… I’d love to get to know her better. Professor, do you have any advice for me?

_You suggest that he express his interest to her up-front._

**Kyle: **Hm… Solid proposal. Thank you, Professor!

_Another pair is sitting in the dining hall as well. You notice the two are Florence and Karim upon getting closer._

**Florence: **There’s so much to think about with all that’s happening… Do you have any ideas as to what’s going on?

**Karim: **Not a clue. I wish I could tell you what they were doing.

**Florence: **Mercenaries seem odd to use when a lord has their own army…

**Karim: **I agree. Perhaps we’ll just have to figure out what they’re up to ourselves.

**Florence: **And if we don’t learn anything officially on a mission, we can go and check it out together.

**Karim: **Sounds good to me!

_You leave the dining hall to head for the entrance hall. The first person You encounter once inside is Miriam._

**Miriam: **Malice… Hm.

_You ask if she is thinking about something._

**Miriam: **Me? Nothing. Don’t worry about me. Continue with your day.

_You leave Miriam alone, clearly seeing she isn’t in a mood to talk. You move onto the next person in the entrance hall, who turns out to be Magnolia._

**Magnolia: **I’ve been thinking a lot about Malice from last month. If they really were involved with… Ahem… That incident back when I was little, then they’ve been active for all this time, and nobody was aware of it… They’re planning something huge. I can just feel it… I hope it doesn’t turn out to be too bad.

_You leave Magnolia to her thoughts before moving to the stables near the entrance hall. Cedric is tending to a horse._

**Cedric: **Hm… I can’t stop thinking about everything that’s been happening. It’s the duty of a noble to defend their people from evil, but what if the evil gets rid of the nobles? That makes things much harder… Regardless, I’m sure we’ll figure something out. We won’t go down that easily.

_Also in the stables is Cordelia, who is standing near a bag of hay._

**Cordelia: **I’ve heard of your skills from the students, you know. I know the knights and students haven’t had much of a chance to interact recently, but I hope that we’ll be able to get to know each other better someday soon. You’re an interesting fellow. Maybe you’ll become a knight one day… Now that’s something I’d like to see.

_After leaving the stables, You move to the knights’ hall. Inside is Callisto._

**Callisto: **I’ve been trying to learn more about how to fight recently. I mean, I know I can fight, but the knights do it for a living. I don’t think I’ll ever go that far, but I need to be able to defend the people who need it most. In a crucial moment, a savior is what you need… But they aren’t always there, so I’ll need to step up!

_The other person in the hall is Illona._

**Illona: **I’m getting better at using a bow these days… I think I’ve come a long way.

_You ask if she ever didn’t use a bow._

**Illona: **N-No… It was a… Um… Sudden decision. Yeah. Anyways, Professor, no need to worry about me. I won’t hit anybody with arrows. Promise!

_You allow Illona to continue her training before moving to the reception hall. Raithius and Novalee are together inside._

**Raithius: **Do you think Malice has gotten into Leicester as well?

**Novalee: **I don’t know for sure. Nobody can tell.

**Raithius: **This is bigger than just Faerghus. It’s been going on for over eighteen years.

**Novalee: **It appears your first acts as the archduke of the Alliance will involve this Malice party…

**Raithius: **Damn it. Why can’t anything ever be easy? Does it really need to be this complicated?

_The final person in the reception hall is William. You approach him._

**William: **Professor, have you done any research into this Malice group?

_You shake your head._

**William: **I decided to investigate, and I learned that soldiers in black armor with distorted emblems have been appearing for over fifty years now. That’s more than some lifetimes. What could it all mean? I don’t understand…

_You move from the reception hall to the cathedral. Once inside, You see Zelhira standing alone._

**Zelhira: **The goddess… Could she have truly appeared before you in a dream? If so, why? She must have had a reason to do so. Everything is done with purpose, no matter how small. Perhaps you bear some relation to the goddess. It would make sense given the Crest of Flames… That’s the Crest of the Goddess, you know. It truly is curious…

_You walk to Nora, the second of three students standing in the cathedral._

**Nora: **Now that we’ve dealt with some soldiers of Malice, I’m sure I once fought them. I saved merchants from an attack supposedly carried out by bandits, but I don’t think that’s the case anymore… Not when those ‘bandits’ look exactly like Malice soldiers. This isn’t a new concept, in other words.

_The final person in the cathedral is Lev, who is standing alone and looking up at the large statue of the goddess._

**Lev: **If the goddess really is out there, is she watching everything we do? Is she there to help us out of dark situations? I don’t know for sure… If she was, she wouldn’t be letting us fall into harm’s way so easily… It gives me a bad feeling.

_You leave the cathedral and go upstairs. In the hallway just outside the staircase, You see Tuncay._

**Tuncay: **The emperor, huh? This must be a pretty important mission if a man like that is requesting our help. I would have expected the year to start with bashing bandits, but it appears I was wrong. Hm… There’s nothing we can do about it but show him what we’re made of. Maybe he’ll have some offer to extend to us as thanks. Who knows?

_You walk down the hallway where the teachers’ rooms are located. Inside of Herwig’s room, You see the teacher of the Black Eagles sitting at his desk._

**Herwig: **I’ve received more letters from my sister about attacks on minor churches… Garreg Mach can’t just stand by and let all of this happen while followers of the Seiros teaching are suffering, right…? I do hope she finds a way to come here soon.

_You go to Reese’s room next._

**Reese: **There are no mentions of a faction called Malice in any books. I’ve done my research since the last mission. However, there are some books that tell of an army with armor of only black with distorted emblems… There’s more to this than meets the eye, and I will find the truth.

_You see Jill standing outside of her room leaning up against the wall._

**Jill: **We’re lucky there haven’t been any major injuries yet. What we’ve seen already is more than enough. This Malice group clearly knows what it’s doing, and I don’t mean that in a good way. If these are professional soldiers though, what could have swayed them against the path of righteousness? Who can say?

_For the first time, You see Roy in his room._

**Roy: **There’s a performing company in town right now… I’d love to go and see them. I have something of a love for dancing, you know. You’d never expect the archbishop’s assistant to be so interested in it, but that’s the truth. That’s actually how I found Lady Aisa to begin with… So much has changed since then.

_You move to the cardinals’ room as one of your last stops for the day’s exploration. Inside, You see Wynne._

**Wynne: **We knights have been told to explore the monastery as much as possible recently. It’s like the archbishop is suspicious of something happening. I don’t know what she could think will happen, but it’s obviously bothering her… How strange. And she’s making us stay so low-key too… She’s a funny lady.

_Also inside the cardinals’ room is Piers._

**Piers: **You can see a lot of the monastery from up here. Even with the world being thrust into chaos at the hands of this Malice group, some things never change. The view, for example… It’s always the same, no matter what the day is. I guess it’s good to have some normality.

_You go to the library, and, as expected, You see Niko inside._

**Niko: **I’ve been working overtime to find the truth behind this Malice faction. You wouldn’t believe how many people have come in here wondering if I have any books about what they’ve done in the past. Surprisingly enough, there is some information out there… I’ve been scouring it for clues, but I’m afraid I’m coming up short.

_You assure him he’ll find something soon._

**Niko: **Thanks, Professor. I’ll tell you if I find anything.

_You move to Aisa’s room as your final stop of the day. She is standing where she always does._

**Aisa: **I am truly proud of how you’ve been doing up to this point, Professor. You’re doing a wonderful job of settling into this new environment. If you need anything, you can always come to me. I’ll do everything I can to help you.

_You nod to her as Seraphine yawns, appearing at your side._

**Seraphine: **I’m tired… We do a lot of walking on these days off. Let’s head back and catch some rest. We deserve it. I hope we have another memory dream…

_You go back to your room and fall asleep soon after, Seraphine doing the same. While You do not have any new memory dreams, You still wonder about what the first one could have meant, but the answers still lie out of reach…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update is a day late due to me being very busy but it's here at last
> 
> -Digital


	26. Chapter Four: Unlamented Sin II (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Blue Lions set out to defeat the leader of the Bazler house at the request of the emperor, but you learn of a few startling details along the way.

_The night before the emperor arrives to give You your mission briefing, You are walking around the monastery when You come across Chris standing alone. You decide to approach her._

**Chris: **Ah-! H-Hello, Professor. How are you doing this fine evening?

_You ask her what she is doing out so late._

**Chris: **N-Nothing… O-Okay, I’m thinking about tomorrow. My father is going to be here… Just thinking about it makes me sick.

_You ask what her father is like._

**Chris: **I already told you at the beginning of the month not to get caught up in anything that he tells you. He’s been known to manipulate a lot of people. He’s come off as a great ruler of Adrestia who has done a lot for the nobles, but… There’s more to it than that. I’m not looking forward to seeing him.

_You tell her You would like more details._

**Chris: **I… Um… Professor, I don’t mean to offend, but I don’t think I can do that right now. I don’t want to anger him further. He hates me enough as it is. Besides, it’s getting late, perhaps we should both go to bed.

**Seraphine: **She’s definitely dodging the question. Press a bit harder!

_You follow Seraphine’s instructions and ask again._

**Chris: **I’m sorry. I need to keep this to myself, at least until the end of the mission. I don’t want your opinions to be influenced by me just because I don’t get along with him very well. I should probably let you form your own opinion on him anyways. It’s late enough as it is.

**Seraphine: **Isn’t she insistent on not saying anything?

**Chris: **Goodnight, Professor.

_Chris walks away, and Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **The more people talk about this emperor, the more afraid I get. He can’t really be that bad, right…? Then again, if his own child is so scared of him… I don’t know. I have a bad feeling about all of this.

_You nod your agreement before returning to your room. It has gotten rather late, and You have a big day ahead of You. Seraphine follows You, and You both fall asleep soon after in preparation for the day to come._

_The next morning, You and the students do not meet in the Blue Lions homeroom, but rather, outside of Aisa’s room on the second floor. Chris is with your group._

**Chris: **Well… Here we are. We’re about to get our orders from the emperor of Adrestia about our next goal.

**Reese: **You look like you’re about to pass out.

**Chris: **It’s not a big deal.

**Magnolia: **I’m curious as to what he’ll have to say on the matter of the mission…

**Falon: **Not to be that person, but… I have a bad feeling about him.

**Aestlyn: **I haven’t heard many good things about the emperor.

**Nora: **I’ve never met him, or anyone on par with his station, but… I don’t think he’s very pleasant, if that’s okay for me to say.

**Karim: **Somebody told me that he eats babies each morning for breakfast.

**Illona:** That… That’s ridiculous! N-Nobody eats babies!

**Chris: **He doesn’t eat babies. He eats the hopes and dreams of everyone he comes into contact with.

**Kyle: **I don’t think that’s any better…

**Cassia: **I’m intrigued as to what he’ll be like.

**Chris: **The answer is unpleasant. Incredibly unpleasant.

**Reese: **It’s time for us to get in there.

**Karim: **What if he--

**Cassia: **He won’t have babies in between his teeth.

**Illona: **Thank the goddess…

**Kyle: **Hm… Didn’t Ms. Hepius also work for him at one point…?

**Nora: **We can talk about all of this later. He asked us to carry out a mission for him, and it must be important if he chose us above his own guard.

**Aestlyn: **Whatever the reason is, I’m nervous already…

**Chris: **Whatever it is, don’t get swept into his words. If he offers you anything, deny it. No matter what. If he says he can offer you money for your services, turn him down. Don’t accept any offers of his.

**Magnolia: **What is all of that supposed to mean?

**Chris: **Just trust me on this, okay?

**Seraphine: **I don’t even know this man, but I already think I want to punch him.

**Falon: **Let’s go before I lose my lunch just thinking about it…

_The students enter the room alongside Reese. You take up the rear. Inside the room, You see Aisa speaking with the emperor, Hendrix von Faixnoye. He is a tall man with black hair and brown eyes. He bears no resemblance to his daughter._

**Aisa: **Good morning, students. It’s a pleasure to see you. I take it you’ve already heard that you’ll be taking your mission today from the Adrestian leader.

**Hendrix: **Greetings.

**Chris: **Father… It’s nice to see you again.

**Hendrix: **…

**Aisa: **Why don’t you go on and give them their mission?

**Hendrix: **Of course… One lord within my territory has acted out against me. Lord Thaddeus Bazler is his name. He sent mercenaries to attack a Crest scholar two months ago. Your class was involved with that mission.

**Chris: **You had worked with her at one point, yes?

**Hendrix: **I’d like you to eliminate this lord and any of his remaining soldiers. Such dangers to the Empire cannot be allowed to live.

**Reese: **What other information do you have on him?

  
**Hendrix: **He has been attempting to overthrow Faixnoye rule for quite some time, though I never imagined he’d make such strides against the family directly.

**Chris: **Did he attack you directly?

**Hendrix: **Quiet, girl. Did I give you permission to speak?

**Chris: **…

**Seraphine: **Intense much…? Yikes.

**Hendrix: **You are to defeat him once and for all. Do not leave a single soldier alive. Those who wish ill against the royal family deserve nothing short of death.

**Cassia: **We heard about the Crest scholar Evenor Hepius… What’s the truth behind her working for you in the past?

**Hendrix: **Yes, she did. She was researching Crests at my request until twelve years ago. I had no further need of her, and so I let her go.

**Cassia: **No further need of her? What does that mean…?

**Chris: **Father, is there anything else you need of us?

**Hendrix: **What did I say about speaking out of line?!

**Chris: **M-My bad…

**Karim: **How about we just head out and bash this guy’s head in?

**Hendrix: **Such vulgar phrasing… But yes. Return to me once your mission is complete.

**Seraphine: **I can’t wait to leave. He’s so irritating to be around… What’s his deal? How rude can someone be?

_You ask Hendrix if he needs anything else._

**Hendrix: **No…

_He looks at You for a moment longer, his eyes narrowing._

**Hendrix: **You… Who are you?

_You explain that You are a professor for the Officers Academy._

**Hendrix: **I see… Leave at once. You have business to take care of.

_You start to leave with most of the students, but You see Chris is staying behind to speak with Hendrix for a moment longer. You hang back to see how it goes._

**Chris: **Father, please listen--

**Hendrix: **I have nothing to say to you. You disobeyed me, and you will live with the consequences.

**Chris: **I don’t even have a chance to prove that I’m loyal to you?

**Hendrix: **You deserve no chances. You have harmed the Faixnoye family greatly, and I will not be forgiving you for it.

**Chris: **Father, just let me--

**Hendrix: **Leave.

**Chris: **Please, I want to say sorr--

**Hendrix: **Go!

**Aisa: **Perhaps it is best if you go and carry out your mission for the month. There is no time to speak now.

**Chris: **I… I understand…

_Chris looks at him for a moment longer before walking away, brushing past You as she goes._

**Seraphine: **You should talk to her for a second. She looks pretty upset.

_You close the door behind yourself as You go before tapping her on the shoulder._

**Chris: **H-Huh? Oh, sorry, Professor. You shouldn’t have had to see that.

_You ask if Hendrix is always like that._

**Chris: **I guess you could say that… We don’t get along all that well, as I’m sure you could tell. Let’s just say that I made a horrible mistake before coming here, and he didn’t exactly take it well.

**Seraphine: **What could she have possibly done to make him that mad…? Do I even want to know?

**Chris: **My father has set me up with a man for an arranged marriage. He figured it was the perfect chance to expand our influence… He always pushed me to grow closer to my future partner, Arthur. I didn't want to. I spoke of my frustrations with Polly, and my father mistook it for me cheating on Arthur. It was nothing of the sort, but… He thought he had seen enough.

**Seraphine: **Why am I not surprised he jumped to conclusions like that?

**Chris: **I guess he hasn’t gotten over that grudge. It’s fine. If he doesn’t want to talk to me, then that’s his problem.

**Seraphine: **Somehow, I think there’s more to it than just that.

_You tell Chris You are happy to be there for her if she needs it._

**Chris: **I do appreciate it, Professor… Perhaps we should go on with the mission. I’ll deal with this later.

**Seraphine: **She has a point… I’m not eager to move on from this serious subject either, but… I guess we don’t have any other options.

**Chris: **If you’ll excuse me, I… I cannot stay here. You have a mission to take care of, but… F-Forget it. Goodbye, Professor.

_Chris leaves, though You can see tears glistening in her eyes._

**Seraphine: **I don’t think I like the emperor at all after that conversation… Gods above, what an unpleasant man.

_You leave the room silently, thinking about the emperor. Hendrix hasn’t given You a strong first impression, but You cannot call him out on it. That would be a recipe for disaster given his status as the leader of Adrestia. Instead, You remain quiet and keep in mind to stay away from him._

_A few hours later, You and the students arrive in Bazler territory to deal with the lord responsible for such a rebellion._

**Reese: **I haven’t heard good things about Lord Bazler.

**Nora: **Oh? What have you heard?

**Reese:** He’s known for his bad behavior among nobility, whether they come from places inside or outside of the empire. This next one is just a rumor, but there are some who think he’s involved in the largest human trafficking ring on the continent.

**Falon: **I’ve heard the same…

**Aestlyn: **He sounds like a monster…

**Magnolia: **I’ll be the one to confirm what I’ve heard then. He’s been taking people for his ring for many years, but the emperor hasn’t acted against him. As far as I can tell, the emperor owes a debt to Lord Bazler. That’s the primary reason that nothing has been done about it. I somehow doubt that he’s going to be helping us save any hostages.

**Illona: **I’ve heard that most of them are from Brigid or Dagda… P-Professor, they’re outside countries that tried to start a war with the empire a while back. There’s peace now, but he could have used it to his advantage to hurt people.

**Karim: **Dastard… Can’t wait to kick his ass.

**Cassia: **It looks like we’re almost there.

**Magnolia: **In that case, I guess we should get in there… Any last thoughts?

**Kyle:** If he’s truly been stealing innocent people to use for his selfish desires… I’m going to enjoy defeating him once and for all. It’s the least I can do for all the people he’s hurt.

**Cassia: **Disgusting monster…

**Aestlyn:** Is there a way we could get him in trouble for this? The rebellion is bad enough, but dealing with human trafficking… Bazler is willing to harm us all. That must eliminate any deals he and the emperor could possibly have, right?

**Illona: **Only time will tell.

**Karim: **I’m tired of standing around here waiting. Let’s take him out already.

**Falon:** I don’t think we need to wait any longer…

_Thaddeus Bazler appears on the horizon, mounted on a brown horse. His troops surround him. They’ve taken up a defensive position outside the territory’s mansion._

**Bazler: **Welcome, students of the Officers Academy!

**Magnolia: **Lord Bazler…

**Bazler: **The princess of Faerghus? What brings you here?

**Magnolia: **I’m supposed to take you down today.

**Bazler: **I see… If that’s the way it must be, perhaps we’ll just have to go along with that…

**Nora:** And that throws diplomacy right out the window.

**Cassia: **He doesn’t deserve diplomacy to begin with after all that he’s done. I want him to die already for his actions.

**lllona: **I would like to know why you went after Ms. Hepius.

**Bazler: **Crests are valuable, kid. They’re power in its purest form. That Crest scholar has the key to giving and removing Crests freely…

**Cassia: **What did you say?!

**Aestlyn: **Giving Crests…?!

**Bazler: **She’s a traitor and a scoundrel… She brought it on herself.

**Kyle: **What does that even mean?

**Falon:** I somehow doubt he’s going to just tell us.

**Aestlyn: **It’s time for you to die... !

**Bazler: **Well, don’t you look nice… If you need somewhere to go after the school year--

_Aestlyn casts a light spell at Bazler._

**Aestlyn: **Don’t even think about it!

**Bazler: **Feisty… Fine. If that’s how this has to be. Men! To battle!

**Magnolia: **Guess it’s time for us to go.

**Reese: **Students of the Officers Academy! To arms!

_There are multiple types of soldiers seen around the battlefield. There are many soldiers wearing black armor, showing they are part of the group Malice. There are other soldiers wearing ragged clothing and using weapons that are barely held together. All fighters from the second group are underaged boys and girls._

**Magnolia: **These people seem to be proof enough of the trafficking.

**Falon: **These people do in fact appear to be from Brigid or Dagda, but there are some from Albinea in there too. I bet they’re being forced to fight us.

**Aestlyn: **We need to spare them.

**Karim: **That man… Dastard!

**Illona: **They’re so young…

**Kyle: **Then stay away from the soldiers that aren’t in black armor! They’re all slaves!

**Cassia:** Look at them… They all seem sick.

**Nora:** I want to slash him in half.

**Seraphine: **Are all nobles like this? They’re really coming off as unpleasant and awful, you know…

_The battle properly begins. The Blue Lions are already showing signs of growth, having learned to slash freely through the enemy. The group keeps the youthful soldiers not in black safe to the best of their abilities. If one of your units speaks with a youth, the youth will change to green and start trying to escape._

_If You speak to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Youth: **You’re here to save me?! Thank you so much! I’ll leave now!

**Seraphine: **There’s one down…

_If Magnolia speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **You seem to be one of Bazler’s hostages…

**Youth: **Yes…

**Magnolia: **Then drop your weapon and run. We’re going to save you.

**Youth: **Thank you so much!

_If Falon speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Falon:** I don’t think you’re from around here… Run. Get out of here. I’m here to rescue you.

**Youth: **Thank you! I-I’ll get right out of here!

_If Nora speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Nora: **Please don’t try to fight back against me… Run far from Bazler territory. He won’t be chasing after you.

**Youth: **Thank you, kind lady!

_If Aestlyn speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Aestlyn: **I can’t believe that monster harmed you this way… I’m going to take him out for you. Please, run as far away as you can.

**Youth: **Alright! I’ll go now!

_If Kyle speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Kyle: **That monster… Please leave. I’m not going to let you get hurt.

**Youth: **Thank you so much…!

_If Illona speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Illona: **I-I don’t want to fight you… Please, run away…

**Youth: **Thank you!

_If Karim speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Karim: **I wish you didn’t have to suffer like this… Get away. Now.

**Youth: **I-I will!

_If Cassia speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Cassia: **I can’t believe that he’s done all of this to you… I’m going to help you escape. I’ll eliminate Bazler for you.

**Youth: **Thank you...

_If Reese speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Reese: **I’m here to save you… Go make a better life for yourself. Carve your own path.

**Youth: **I-I will…!

_If all the youths escape, You will receive one item for each stat at the end of this fight. For every two youths killed, one item will be taken away._

_If You initiate combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**Bazler: **Well, what do we have here? A teacher from the school? Pathetic… You do look familiar though… Hmph. It matters not. Goodnight, Professor!

_If Magnolia initiates combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **I can’t wait for you to finally kick the bucket.

**Bazler: **You seem familiar… Hm. How strange.

**Magnolia: **Why are you talking about this now?!

**Bazler: **Quiet, brat! I’ll just have to kill you myself!

_If Falon initiates combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**Bazler: **That red hair… I think I’ve seen it before…

**Falon: **Red hair? What?

**Bazler: **You look quite like one conspirator I have… A lady of nobility from Faerghus… Have you ever met Josephine Goneril?

**Falon: **Why are you asking me this now?!

**Bazler: **If that’s a no, fine. Perish.

_If Illona initiates combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**Illona: **Can… Can that Crest scholar really give out and remove Crests?

**Bazler:** I said that earlier, didn’t I?

**Illona:** …

**Bazler:** Are we done? It’s time for you to die.

**Illona: **Not if I get rid of you first…

_If Cassia initiates combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**Cassia: **Can Crests really be given away and taken away?

**Bazler: **You seem intrigued… Aren’t you a darling one? If you needed a place to stay, I’d be happy to--

**Cassia: **Still your tongue. Answer the question.

**Bazler: **Yes… The answer is yes.

**Cassia: **That’s all I needed.

_When Bazler is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Bazler: **Ugh… You’re… Terrible… Stains…

_After the battle, the group stands before Bazler._

**Bazler: **You’re all stains… Terrors to Adrestia…

**Magnolia:** Why did you act out this way? What made you want to start a rebellion?

**Bazler: **The emperor is a fool… He pretends to be in power, keeping everyone under his thumb, but it’s never enough for him…

**Magnolia:** That’s… That’s it?

**Bazler: **He deserves this all… Everything that’s coming to him! The Faixnoye line has destroyed Adrestia for far too long!

**Magnolia: **If you won’t answer honestly, then I guess we’ll just have to end it now.

**Bazler: **I wouldn’t be so sure.

_Bazler claps his hands, and a small group of ambush troops appears from the trees. He gets to his feet and runs away. The Blue Lions struggle with the ambush troops for a few minutes as Bazler disappears off into the distance. Once their lord is gone, the troops leave, and the territory is abandoned._

**Seraphine: **We have to go after him!

**Karim: **We have to get him! Let’s go already!

**Cassia:** He has to be let go… We need to make sure that all of the people he took for his ring are safe.

**Aestlyn: **We have to free them.

**Nora: **It’s the least we can do for them.

**Falon: **This was going on for so long, and yet, nobody stood up for the innocent people.

**Illona: **My head is swimming just thinking of it…

**Kyle: **The whole empire is going to be searching for him. Plus, the church wants him to be taken out as well.

**Cassia: **Even the emperor has to go against him with this betrayal… This isn’t something he can ignore.

**Reese: **We can’t let Bazler get away with this.

**Magnolia: **Then let’s do it. These people deserve freedom.

_The rest of the group walks away to get to work. Seraphine appears before You._

**Seraphine: **Thaddeus Bazler… What a monstrous pile of trash. He was keeping so many young people hostage here without a shred of regret.

_You think of how he never showed signs of caring for what he had done._

**Seraphine: **He wanted us all to die, and he was willing to sacrifice innocent, malnourished children to reach that end… Disgusting.

_A youth appears in front of You before You have a chance to reply._

**Youth: **Thank you for all you did for us today… Here. Take this.

_You receive all the stat items that You earned from the battle._

**Youth: **Goodbye. Thank you again.

_The youth walks away._

**Seraphine: **So hurt, and yet they still tried to do something for us… They really all did deserve better.

_A few hours later, the group arrives back at the monastery. In the primary chamber where Aisa regularly stays, there are four people. These three are Aisa, Roy, Chris, and Hendrix. They were not talking when You entered, instead merely standing in the silence and waiting for You to return. Chris still seems upset, but she is hiding the signs better now, though she refuses to look at her father. When You appear, Aisa looks up._

**Aisa: **Ah… Greetings, Professor. I see that you have returned from your mission.

**Roy: **What happened to Lord Bazler?

**Hendrix: **I hope you killed him. Any people who stand up against the empire deserve nothing short of death.

**Illona: **I… I’m sorry, but it didn’t go that way…

**Reese: **He got away, but we found something you’d surely want to see.

**Cassia: **We found evidence that he runs a human trafficking ring with contacts all over the continent. Even Brigid, Dagda, and Albinea are involved.

**Falon:** Once he’s found, we’ll make sure he’s prosecuted for his crimes. Nobody like that can be allowed to live.

**Hendrix: **I don’t care about that right now! He acted against the empire, and he cannot be allowed to live!

**Chris: **I-I’m sorry it went like this, Father… I promise you, I’ll--

**Hendrix: **Quiet! You didn’t even come close to the battlefield, girl!

**Chris: **…

**Karim: **We confirmed him to be the same person who attacked the Crest scholar Evenor Hepius a few months back as well.

**Aestlyn: **He said that she had figured out how to give people Crests.

**Kyle: **That can’t be true…

**Magnolia: **After spending so much time studying Crests, the possibility is there.

**Nora: **If it is true, I don’t want to imagine what that knowledge could cause in the wrong time.

**Aisa: **I see… Church troops will make a move to arrest Lord Bazler as soon as possible.

**Roy: **Thank you for your work, students. You may return to your classroom now.

_The students all leave the room with Reese. Chris stays behind, and You do as well._

**Hendrix: **I must return to Adrestia now.

**Chris: **Father, I--

**Hendrix: **Don’t speak to me. You didn’t even grace the field of battle. I am very disappointed.

**Chris: **I… I understand…

**Hendrix: **Farewell.

_Hendrix leaves._

**Chris: **Um… I’ll be on my way as well…

_Chris leaves._

**Aisa: **Thank you for your help, Professor. You have done a lot for the church on this day.

**Roy: **We will be working with the people you freed from Bazler’s territory to find better lives for all those taken.

**Aisa: **I had heard rumors of what he was doing, but I didn’t realize it was so expansive…

**Roy: **He has been doing such for twenty-five years, according to Nesreen. She relayed all the information your troops found on the field to us.

**Seraphine: **Twenty-five years?!

**Aisa: **There was much harm done by his lust for power… We won’t be able to do much for the people who have lived with this for their whole lives.

**Roy: **His father, the previous Lord Bazler, was involved in this as well. It has a fifty-year history in total.

**Seraphine: **I can’t believe nobody tried to stop him… What’s the point of the nobility system if it means some people are ruled over without a say? I mean, nobles are supposed to protect their territory, but they aren’t doing a good job if they let somebody get away with this.

**Aisa: **He had contact with a noble in Leicester, and as far as we are aware, he was tied with the previous king of Faerghus somehow. The connection is unclear…

**Roy: **We’ll be looking into this Leicester noble, Lord Wenlock Columbus, in case he merits further investigation.

**Aisa: **For now, please go on about your business.

_You nod and leave the room._

**Seraphine: **The emperor is a lot worse than we thought… For one, he mistreats his daughter. On top of that, he let Bazler get away with this until it directly inconvenienced him. Both sides are awful, but I see why somebody would want to rebel against him.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **Let’s just get to the classroom.

_When You arrive at the classroom, the students are all standing together with Reese._

**Reese: **And so ends our largest fight up to this point… I don’t really know what to say after all we’ve learned today.

**Karim: **I’m utterly exhausted… That was so much to deal with.

**Kyle:** I need some time to think for sure.

**Cassia: **This is the reason nobles have a bad reputation. They don’t care about who they hurt so long as it fuels their desires.

**Illona: **But overthrowing nobles… That’s impossible, right? It would be too much for a small group to handle.

**Nora: **This sucks…

**Aestlyn: **I just want to forget about it all… How disgusting must he have been to do all this?

**Falon:** We saved so many innocent people today, but that can’t erase the sins of the past. What a monster…

**Cassia: **Plus, he got away…

**Illona: **He has to get caught soon, right?

**Kyle: **He has to be… The church will handle it.

**Nora: **I’m sick of this. Night, everybody.

**Karim: **Why are nobles so frustrating? Gods above…

**Falon: **I can’t believe him…

**Aestlyn: **Goodnight, guys… Try to feel better.

_The students all head out with Reese. The only other person in the classroom is Magnolia. You ask her what is on her mind._

**Magnolia: **It’s something that we found out while we were out there today… I’m sure you noticed the evidence relating to my father and the trafficking ring.

**Seraphine: **Maybe this is why the king was killed…

**Magnolia: **My father wasn’t a good person. History treats him like a great king who was victim to horrible bandits, but that’s not the case. Malice killed him for one, but… He was an awful man. I’m almost glad I never knew him growing up. He would have made me sick because of what he did… I went through the evidence.

**Seraphine: **What does that mean?

_You ask her Seraphine’s question._

**Magnolia: **Albinea is a colony of Faerghus. It went to war with Faerghus when my kingdom would not provide it independence. My father hated everybody from Albinea… He hated them enough to lead hunts in which he murdered Albineans for ‘crimes against Faerghus’... He just wanted them to die for being foreign.

**Seraphine: **Maybe it’s good that he’s dead…

**Magnolia: **I’m sure that’s where the Albinean hostages were from… He probably took the people he found most attractive along just because he wanted to… And that…

**Seraphine: **Are any royals on this continent good people?!

**Magnolia: **I found a document listing off the women my father was involved with. It was so much, and I… One of them was my mother. She was halfway Albinean, a second-generation immigrant from Albinea. Her father was from Albinea while her mother was from Faerghus. I guess he encountered her on one of his hunts… And she was dragged into all of this. At the very least, that’s how I believe it happened. That… That changes everything.

**Seraphine: **That’s insane…

**Magnolia: **It explains why she was forced out of the palace though. She was never allowed to be around me while I was growing up. I tried to visit her as much as I could, but… It was thought of as awful that she was partially from Albinea, and she was treated horribly for it… You know, I was given an ultimatum a few years ago. I could live with my mother or take the throne. I never realized it before now, but… It’s crystal clear why to me now. She was Albinean, and by extension, I am. However, her blood is thicker than mine… I’m only there because of my father’s Crest, and… I can’t help but wonder what that’s worth in times like these… Oh, sorry for going on. I didn’t mean to ramble.

_You assure her she is fine._

**Magnolia: **Thank you so much for listening to me… I’m going to turn in now. I have some thinking to do. Goodnight, Professor.

_Magnolia leaves the classroom quickly._

**Seraphine:** What a disgusting man… I don’t know who killed the king of Faerghus, but I think that he’s better off in the grave.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **I’m starting to wonder if any good nobles exist… Either way, it’s not something I can answer today. Let’s go to bed.

_You start back to your room. When You arrive, Seraphine doesn’t say anything about the events of the day. She goes to sleep without so much as a goodnight, which is abnormal for her. Given the events of the day, You suspect that for the second month in a row, Seraphine is questioning the way F_ _ódlan is run given the questionable state of the class system. You do not comment on it and go to sleep silently, though it takes You quite some time to sleep. Questions dance through your mind about the continent, its values, and the people who make it run. You hold doubts about Fódlan, but You do not voice them and let sleep claim You..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bazler stinky
> 
> Also Magnolia facts are interesting huh
> 
> -Digital


	27. Chapter Four: Unlamented Sin I (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You explore the monastery after hearing about Lord Bazler.

_At the start of the next month, the Blue Sea Moon, You wake up and prepare for the work ahead of You. You begin your walk to see Aisa, Seraphine appearing at your side._

**Seraphine: **I can’t stop thinking about that dream we had… It was nothing like we had experienced before then, and it’s not like we’ve seen anything since either. It’s like it’s all on the tip of my tongue, but I don’t know what to do about it.

_You shake your head. You do not know what to do either._

**Seraphine: **Let’s go and see the archbishop though… I bet she has something important to tell us given that it’s kind of her job to tell us what to do.

_You arrive at the room where Aisa is most of the time. She is standing with Roy as usual._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor. I come with good news.

**Seraphine: **Unless that good news has to do with Malice or that dream we had, I don’t want to hear it right now. I’m kind of on a mission here.

**Aisa: **We have figured out the truth behind those mercenaries who attacked you on your first official mission of the year. The mercenaries from Adrestia were from Bazler territory. It is a Crestless house that has not seen any Crest bearers in many generations.

**Seraphine: **Crestless noble houses? I didn’t even realize those existed. Everything in this world seems to be all about the Crests. Can you blame me for thinking that?

**Aisa: **A rebellion is set to begin soon. While you were on your mission this past week, Nesreen searched the area. She found proof of a pending rebellion in the form of letters from Lord Bazler. You are to help suppress this rebellion.

**Roy: **However, there is one other important thing for you to know.

**Seraphine: **What could be more important than telling us about Malice? We figured out where one of the groups came from. Sounds pretty important to me.

**Roy: **This mission was not given by the church itself. It’s from the emperor of Adrestia.

**Seraphine: **Woah! Of all the things I expected to hear, that wasn’t it!

_You ask about the Adrestian Emperor._

**Aisa: **Hendrix von Faixnoye has been ruling over Adrestia for more than thirty years. He is one of the most powerful men in all the land… Even foreign powers cannot compete with him.

**Roy: **He requested that the students suppress the rebellion as opposed to sending out his own soldiers to do so. Your class, whichever one you select, will be defeating the rebels at the emperor’s request.

**Seraphine: **Somehow, I don’t think this is going to be easy… Just knowing that the emperor asked us to do this really lays on the pressure.

_You ask to hear more about Hendrix._

**Aisa: **He is known for having one of the longest rules in recent memory, no matter the kingdom.

**Roy: **He’s also been called stubborn in the past, though I suppose it’s all a matter of perspective regarding how you think of him. However, it cannot be doubted that he leads a powerful empire.

**Aisa: **Now, it’s time for you to select a house. Which one will you choose for the month?

_After thinking on the matter, You arrive at a conclusion: the Golden Deer._

**Roy: **You wish to follow the Golden Deer this month?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I’m glad to hear you’re so ready. Now, you should go and speak with the members of your class to see what the plan is for the coming month.

_You nod and start to walk to the homeroom. Seraphine appears next to You._

**Seraphine: **The emperor… I wouldn’t have expected somebody so important to turn to children like us. If you ask me, he’s just doing this so he won’t have to bother with it. I mean, he has the superior military might, so why bother with us?

_You shrug uncertainly._

**Seraphine: **I don’t know. Maybe I’m just jumping to conclusions. Let’s go on and see the kiddos.

_You walk into the Golden Deer homeroom. Jill is inside with the other students._

**Jill: **Hello, Professor. Welcome.

**Adeline:** I heard we’re to be working with the emperor of Adrestia this month.

_You nod._

**Wolfgang:** The mercenaries that attacked Ms. Hepius a few months ago were sent by Lord Bazler. Now, he’s going to start a rebellion and try to take the throne of Adrestia… What in the world is he thinking?

**Lev: **Why is the emperor having us take care of it…? He’s the most powerful man on the continent with government power. He has his own fighters.

**Seraphine: **That’s what I’m saying!

**Novalee:** I can’t imagine he’s doing this for no reason… This was deliberate. However, the reasoning behind it is still a mystery to me.

**William: **If the mercenaries were involved with Malice, then Lord Bazler is tied into this as well… The pieces are coming together, it seems.

**Cedric: **We need to prepare ourselves.

**Sofia: **I’m sure they’ve improved in battle since the last time they were fought.

**Adeline:** We’ve grown, but they have too.

**Lev: **Perhaps we should eliminate them sooner rather than later… So many people have been hurt who deserve justice.

**Wolfgang:** He’s being driven mad with power. Nobles seem to enjoy biting off more than they can chew to get what they want.

**Sofia: **Nobles can be so childish sometimes. I’m not trying to be mean or anything, but can you blame me for thinking this way?

**Cedric: **Hurting innocent people cannot be allowed. With the light of justice on our side, we need to fight back.

**William: **It appears that we’ve come to a conclusion about what we’ll be doing from here on out then… I’m glad to hear it.

**Novalee: **I can’t help but feel the same.

**Jill: **Our knowledge on this mission is minimal at best. Our briefing is going to be directly from the emperor. He wanted the honor of telling us what to do when Bazler finally needs to be struck down in battle.

**Sofia: **But why ask us? He has so many people to do it. His knights are countless in number, but he’s having students do it.

**Lev: **I don’t know why, and honestly, I don’t care to find out…

**Raithius: **I’ve heard quite a bit about the emperor before, you know. I haven’t met him, but he recruits fighters he thinks will help him to expand his reach. He uses them to get rid of those who could harm his power. Maybe he wants to try and recruit some of us, which would explain why we’re going out. Isn’t it odd that he’s related to Chris despite being so power-hungry?

**Novalee:** Isn’t it odd to imagine? They’re so different, and on top of that, they don’t look anything alike. There’s no resemblance.

**Adeline: **That seems to be an understatement…

**William: **There’s not much we can do to think of it at the moment. The mission itself is still about a month away.

**Jill: **It’s time for us to start getting ready, but not today. Enjoy the rest of your day. We’ll meet up tomorrow to continue training.

_The students leave with Jill, and You follow after them. However, soon after leaving, You are approached by none other than Chris._

**Chris: **Um… Professor? Can we talk for a moment?

_You tell her that should be okay._

**Chris: **Thank you… I know I'm not in your class for the month, but I have an important thing to tell you before you meet with the emperor.

**Seraphine: **Not even ‘my father’. Just ‘the emperor’. I don't like that. Something is up.

_You agree with Seraphine but let Chris lead You to a quiet corner of the monastery._

**Chris: **I'm sorry to be cutting into your free time like this, but… Be careful around my father. Don’t let him get to you. In fact, don’t show him a fraction of the way you really feel about anything. Hide everything. Don’t let him get attached to anything.

**Seraphine: **Wow… She really doesn’t seem to like her father much. I wonder why.

_You ask Chris why she is so concerned._

**Chris: **Um… To put it nicely, we don’t really get along. He focuses on things I truly wish he wouldn’t, and while there’s not much I can do about it, I truly hate the way he manages my life.

**Seraphine: **But that still doesn’t explain details!

_You ask for more details._

**Chris: **I-I’d rather not get too deep into it, but… We got into a fight shortly before I came here to the academy, and it caused a lot of stress between the two of us. He doesn’t even want to look at me, much less say anything. We’re enjoying our time apart right now, though it doesn’t look like that’s going to last… Anyways, I hope you have a nice day, Professor. I should get going.

_Chris walks away quickly._

**Seraphine: **Sounds to me like there’s more to this emperor than meets the eye. I mean, I don’t know how we’re going to get any other information out of her, but we should make an attempt to do so. Something is clearly going on here.

_You nod your agreement but point out that You won’t be getting any answers until Chris grows more comfortable with You._

**Seraphine: **That’s true… I guess we should just enjoy our time off for now. We can think about this more later.

_You agree with her and begin your day of exploration around the monastery. In the courtyard outside the Officers Academy, You run into Cassia._

**Cassia: **Malice… It’s clear we’re dealing with an organized party that spans at least two nations. I can’t help but wonder what their goals could be… But I suppose only time will tell. In the meantime, all we can do is work hard.

_You walk away from Cassia to approach Hegias, who is also in the courtyard._

**Hegias: **I don’t know what these mercenaries have been doing, but it’s clear they’re dangerous. I can’t believe they went after Evenor the way they did… I can’t wait to see them taken out. I hope that’s not bad of me to say.

_You assure him that it’s alright._

**Hegias: **Thank you, Professor… It just upsets me they’d go after the innocent this way, you know?

_You turn to the final person in the courtyard, who happens to be Adeline._

**Adeline: **I can’t help but wonder… If this Malice group is already in Adrestia and Faerghus, there must be some people working with them in Leicester too. I mean, that would make sense… This isn’t my way of saying I want to believe it. Don’t make that mistake. I just… It seems likely to me.

_After You finish in the courtyard, You move to the training hall. Inside, there are two people talking. Upon further inspection, You realize they are Sofia and Falon._

**Sofia: **Well, aren’t you tough as can be, Fally?

**Falon: **Sofia, you flatter me. I just do the work I need to in order to improve.

**Sofia: **Flattery or not, I’d love to learn more about the way you fight. Perhaps we should spar together. We could join each other for tea soon after…

**Falon: **Teatime? That sounds lovely! Training and having tea are always much more fun when they’re with friends, wouldn’t you agree?

**Sofia: **Yes… Friends…

**Falon: **Did you say something?

**Sofia: **Nope!

_You leave the training hall and move to the first floor of dorms. You see Aquillus standing against a pole._

**Aquillus: **Malice… I checked any books I figured would be useful for potential references of this group. I didn’t find anything. As far as I can tell, they’ve only become a recent threat. I can’t help but wonder what their purpose can be… Hm. How strange.

_Further down the row of dorms, You see Kaeta._

**Kaeta: **It would be an absolute dream to attend the Officers Academy one day… Unfortunately, for somebody like me, a commoner, that’s just a dream. Unless you’ve got the cash to send somebody here, that dream is just a dream. Makes you wonder if the system is really alright if it’s based purely off how much gold one owns.

_The final person on the first floor of the dorms is Nesreen._

**Nesreen: **I’ve been rather active recently in finding new information. It’s been a while since any messenger was sent out this much back to back. Something is clearly wrong in the world if things are going this way… Hm. I wish I knew the answers everyone is seeking.

_You head upstairs to the second floor of dorms. You see one pair of people at the far end of the hallway. It’s Chris and Polly, You realize._

**Chris: **I can’t believe we have to see him again…

**Polly: **I wish it wasn’t the case either. We know how he can get.

**Chris: **That’s an understatement… Condoning harassment for his own personal gains is far beyond just ‘how he gets’. On top of that, he seems to look at every woman he isn’t related to with a sexual gaze… He disgusts me.

**Polly: **But we can’t say anything publicly… For now, we’ll have to lay low. We’ll find a way out of this soon enough. I promise.

**Chris: **I hope you’re right…

_Sensing the two are discussing something, or rather, someone serious, You leave them in peace and go back downstairs to enter the greenhouse. Inside, You run into Adrian._

**Adrian: **The plants of this continent are so different from what I’m used to… It’s been a year since I was back home, but I’m still not used to seeing so much that I’ve never seen before. It’s the reason I set out to begin with, but it still catches me off guard.

_You ask Adrian about his home._

**Adrian: **Oh, I’m from Brigid. It’s a territory near Adrestia. Maybe I could take you there one day.

_You leave the greenhouse to investigate the fishing hole. There, You see a variety of people, though the first one You encounter is Yuliya._

**Yuliya: **I’ve been working here for years, but I still feel like I’ve never gotten what I deserved… How much can someone take before they want to snap? Just give me a damn raise so I don’t have to keep buying the cheapest food in existence!

_Yuliya seems to be ranting to no one in particular, so You decide to leave her be. Next, You approach Wolfgang._

**Wolfgang: **You know, I didn’t know much of anything about fishing before I came to the monastery. Back home, there weren’t any rivers or streams to fish in, so I hadn’t ever tried it before coming here… The school really is changing my life.

_After finishing your conversation with Wolfgang, You approach a final pair standing on the docks: Rodain and Derric._

**Rodain: **Malice seems to be some sort of conspiracy group. I would love to learn more about them.

**Derric: **I wouldn’t be so cheery. They’re dangerous. If we get too close, something could happen.

**Rodain: **But I want to know why the knights haven’t been sent out to deal with them yet! We could handle it!

**Derric: **I have no doubt of that, but it’s the archbishop’s choice at the end of the day. We have no reason to go against her, so we should listen to her words for now. If we have problems later, we’ll address them then.

**Rodain: **I hate it when you’re right…

_After finishing in the fishing hole, You decide to head to the dining hall. Inside, You see Aestlyn sitting at a table._

**Aestlyn: **I got a letter from my parents back home. They haven’t had any bandit issues since we drove off the Malice soldiers. That’s such a relief… I just hope they don’t come back anytime soon. They’ve dealt with enough as is.

_Sitting at another table nearby is Kyle._

**Kyle: **Aestlyn truly is the symbol of perfection and beauty… I’d love to get to know her better. Professor, do you have any advice for me?

_You suggest that he express his interest to her up-front._

**Kyle: **Hm… Solid proposal. Thank you, Professor!

_Another pair is sitting in the dining hall as well. You notice the two are Florence and Karim upon getting closer._

**Florence: **There’s so much to think about with all that’s happening… Do you have any ideas as to what’s going on?

**Karim: **Not a clue. I wish I could tell you what they were doing.

**Florence: **Mercenaries seem odd to use when a lord has their own army…

**Karim: **I agree. Perhaps we’ll just have to figure out what they’re up to ourselves.

**Florence: **And if we don’t learn anything officially on a mission, we can go and check it out together.

**Karim: **Sounds good to me!

_You leave the dining hall to head for the entrance hall. The first person You encounter once inside is Miriam._

**Miriam: **Malice… Hm.

_You ask if she is thinking about something._

**Miriam: **Me? Nothing. Don’t worry about me. Continue with your day.

_You leave Miriam alone, clearly seeing she isn’t in a mood to talk. You move onto the next person in the entrance hall, who turns out to be Magnolia._

**Magnolia: **I’ve been thinking a lot about Malice from last month. If they really were involved with… Ahem… That incident back when I was little, then they’ve been active for all this time, and nobody was aware of it… They’re planning something huge. I can just feel it… I hope it doesn’t turn out to be too bad.

_You leave Magnolia to her thoughts before moving to the stables near the entrance hall. Cedric is tending to a horse._

**Cedric: **Hm… I can’t stop thinking about everything that’s been happening. It’s the duty of a noble to defend their people from evil, but what if the evil gets rid of the nobles? That makes things much harder… Regardless, I’m sure we’ll figure something out. We won’t go down that easily.

_Also in the stables is Cordelia, who is standing near a bag of hay._

**Cordelia: **I’ve heard of your skills from the students, you know. I know the knights and students haven’t had much of a chance to interact recently, but I hope that we’ll be able to get to know each other better someday soon. You’re an interesting fellow. Maybe you’ll become a knight one day… Now that’s something I’d like to see.

_After leaving the stables, You move to the knights’ hall. Inside is Callisto._

**Callisto: **I’ve been trying to learn more about how to fight recently. I mean, I know I can fight, but the knights do it for a living. I don’t think I’ll ever go that far, but I need to be able to defend the people who need it most. In a crucial moment, a savior is what you need… But they aren’t always there, so I’ll need to step up!

_The other person in the hall is Illona._

**Illona: **I’m getting better at using a bow these days… I think I’ve come a long way.

_You ask if she ever didn’t use a bow._

**Illona: **N-No… It was a… Um… Sudden decision. Yeah. Anyways, Professor, no need to worry about me. I won’t hit anybody with arrows. Promise!

_You allow Illona to continue her training before moving to the reception hall. Raithius and Novalee are together inside._

**Raithius: **Do you think Malice has gotten into Leicester as well?

**Novalee: **I don’t know for sure. Nobody can tell.

**Raithius: **This is bigger than just Faerghus. It’s been going on for over eighteen years.

**Novalee: **It appears your first acts as the archduke of the Alliance will involve this Malice party…

**Raithius: **Damn it. Why can’t anything ever be easy? Does it really need to be this complicated?

_The final person in the reception hall is William. You approach him._

**William: **Professor, have you done any research into this Malice group?

_You shake your head._

**William: **I decided to investigate, and I learned that soldiers in black armor with distorted emblems have been appearing for over fifty years now. That’s more than some lifetimes. What could it all mean? I don’t understand…

_You move from the reception hall to the cathedral. Once inside, You see Zelhira standing alone._

**Zelhira: **The goddess… Could she have truly appeared before you in a dream? If so, why? She must have had a reason to do so. Everything is done with purpose, no matter how small. Perhaps you bear some relation to the goddess. It would make sense given the Crest of Flames… That’s the Crest of the Goddess, you know. It truly is curious…

_You walk to Nora, the second of three students standing in the cathedral._

**Nora: **Now that we’ve dealt with some soldiers of Malice, I’m sure I once fought them. I saved merchants from an attack supposedly carried out by bandits, but I don’t think that’s the case anymore… Not when those ‘bandits’ look exactly like Malice soldiers. This isn’t a new concept, in other words.

_The final person in the cathedral is Lev, who is standing alone and looking up at the large statue of the goddess._

**Lev: **If the goddess really is out there, is she watching everything we do? Is she there to help us out of dark situations? I don’t know for sure… If she was, she wouldn’t be letting us fall into harm’s way so easily… It gives me a bad feeling.

_You leave the cathedral and go upstairs. In the hallway just outside the staircase, You see Tuncay._

**Tuncay: **The emperor, huh? This must be a pretty important mission if a man like that is requesting our help. I would have expected the year to start with bashing bandits, but it appears I was wrong. Hm… There’s nothing we can do about it but show him what we’re made of. Maybe he’ll have some offer to extend to us as thanks. Who knows?

_You walk down the hallway where the teachers’ rooms are located. Inside of Herwig’s room, You see the teacher of the Black Eagles sitting at his desk._

**Herwig: **I’ve received more letters from my sister about attacks on minor churches… Garreg Mach can’t just stand by and let all of this happen while followers of the Seiros teaching are suffering, right…? I do hope she finds a way to come here soon.

_You go to Reese’s room next._

**Reese: **There are no mentions of a faction called Malice in any books. I’ve done my research since the last mission. However, there are some books that tell of an army with armor of only black with distorted emblems… There’s more to this than meets the eye, and I will find the truth.

_You see Jill standing outside of her room leaning up against the wall._

**Jill: **We’re lucky there haven’t been any major injuries yet. What we’ve seen already is more than enough. This Malice group clearly knows what it’s doing, and I don’t mean that in a good way. If these are professional soldiers though, what could have swayed them against the path of righteousness? Who can say?

_For the first time, You see Roy in his room._

**Roy: **There’s a performing company in town right now… I’d love to go and see them. I have something of a love for dancing, you know. You’d never expect the archbishop’s assistant to be so interested in it, but that’s the truth. That’s actually how I found Lady Aisa to begin with… So much has changed since then.

_You move to the cardinals’ room as one of your last stops for the day’s exploration. Inside, You see Wynne._

**Wynne: **We knights have been told to explore the monastery as much as possible recently. It’s like the archbishop is suspicious of something happening. I don’t know what she could think will happen, but it’s obviously bothering her… How strange. And she’s making us stay so low-key too… She’s a funny lady.

_Also inside the cardinals’ room is Piers._

**Piers: **You can see a lot of the monastery from up here. Even with the world being thrust into chaos at the hands of this Malice group, some things never change. The view, for example… It’s always the same, no matter what the day is. I guess it’s good to have some normality.

_You go to the library, and, as expected, You see Niko inside._

**Niko: **I’ve been working overtime to find the truth behind this Malice faction. You wouldn’t believe how many people have come in here wondering if I have any books about what they’ve done in the past. Surprisingly enough, there is some information out there… I’ve been scouring it for clues, but I’m afraid I’m coming up short.

_You assure him he’ll find something soon._

**Niko: **Thanks, Professor. I’ll tell you if I find anything.

_You move to Aisa’s room as your final stop of the day. She is standing where she always does._

**Aisa: **I am truly proud of how you’ve been doing up to this point, Professor. You’re doing a wonderful job of settling into this new environment. If you need anything, you can always come to me. I’ll do everything I can to help you.

_You nod to her as Seraphine yawns, appearing at your side._

**Seraphine: **I’m tired… We do a lot of walking on these days off. Let’s head back and catch some rest. We deserve it. I hope we have another memory dream…

_You go back to your room and fall asleep soon after, Seraphine doing the same. While You do not have any new memory dreams, You still wonder about what the first one could have meant, but the answers still lie out of reach…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have school off so this is coming early
> 
> -Digital


	28. Chapter Four: Unlamented Sin II (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Golden Deer set out to defeat the leader of the Bazler house at the request of the emperor, but you learn of a few startling details along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: Fixed name error near the end of the chapter.

_The night before the emperor arrives to give You your mission briefing, You are walking around the monastery when You come across Chris standing alone. You decide to approach her._

**Chris: **Ah-! H-Hello, Professor. How are you doing this fine evening?

_You ask her what she is doing out so late._

**Chris: **N-Nothing… O-Okay, I’m thinking about tomorrow. My father is going to be here… Just thinking about it makes me sick.

_You ask what her father is like._

**Chris: **I already told you at the beginning of the month not to get caught up in anything that he tells you. He’s been known to manipulate a lot of people. He’s come off as a great ruler of Adrestia who has done a lot for the nobles, but… There’s more to it than that. I’m not looking forward to seeing him.

_You tell her You would like more details._

**Chris: **I… Um… Professor, I don’t mean to offend, but I don’t think I can do that right now. I don’t want to anger him further. He hates me enough as it is. Besides, it’s getting late, perhaps we should both go to bed.

**Seraphine: **She’s definitely dodging the question. Press a bit harder!

_You follow Seraphine’s instructions and ask again._

**Chris: **I’m sorry. I need to keep this to myself, at least until the end of the mission. I don’t want your opinions to be influenced by me just because I don’t get along with him very well. I should probably let you form your own opinion on him anyways. It’s late enough as it is.

**Seraphine: **Isn’t she insistent on not saying anything?

**Chris: **Goodnight, Professor.

_Chris walks away, and Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **The more people talk about this emperor, the more afraid I get. He can’t really be that bad, right…? Then again, if his own child is so scared of him… I don’t know. I have a bad feeling about all of this.

_You nod your agreement before returning to your room. It has gotten rather late, and You have a big day ahead of You. Seraphine follows You, and You both fall asleep soon after in preparation for the day to come._

_The next morning, You and the students do not meet in the Golden Deer homeroom, but rather, outside of Aisa’s room on the second floor. Chris is with your group._

**Chris: **Well… Here we are. We’re about to get our orders from the emperor of Adrestia about our next goal.

**Jill: **You look rather lightheaded…

**Chris: **It’s not a big deal.

**Raithius:** I want to know what he’s got up his sleeve already.

**Novalee: **I don’t mean to be rude, but… I don’t know how this is going to go.

**Adeline: **All I’ve heard about the emperor are complaints.

**William: **I haven’t ever met him myself, nor have I met somebody with his amount of power, but I doubt he’s a kind man.

**Sofia: **I heard that he eats babies.

**Lev:** That’s crazy… People don’t eat babies… Right?

**Chris: **He doesn’t eat babies. He eats the hopes and dreams of everyone he comes into contact with.

**Cedric: **You truly aren’t giving us a good impression of him.

**Wolfgang: **I’m curious about how he’ll be…

**Chris: **The answer is unpleasant. Incredibly unpleasant.

**Jill: **Let’s go and see him now.

**Lev: **B-But what if--

**Novalee: **There won’t be babies stuck between his teeth.

**Adeline: **What a relief…

**William: **I seem to recall Ms. Hepius worked for him at one point.

**Cedric:** Perhaps we could ask him at a later point. He asked us for help, and he must have a reason for asking us to do it as opposed to his guards.

**Sofia: **I don’t know why he did that, but I already don’t like it.

**Chris: **Whatever it is, don’t get swept into his words. If he offers you anything, deny it. No matter what. If he says he can offer you money for your services, turn him down. Don’t accept any offers of his.

**Raithius: **And what does that mean?

**Chris: **Just trust me on this, okay?

**Seraphine: **I don’t even know this man, but I already think I want to punch him.

**Sofia: **Come on. He’s not going to want to wait for us for much longer.

_The students enter the room alongside Reese. You take up the rear. Inside the room, You see Aisa speaking with the emperor, Hendrix von Faixnoye. He is a tall man with black hair and brown eyes. He bears no resemblance to his daughter._

**Aisa: **Good morning, students. It’s a pleasure to see you. I take it you’ve already heard that you’ll be taking your mission today from the Adrestian leader.

**Hendrix: **Greetings.

**Chris: **Father… It’s nice to see you again.

**Hendrix: **…

**Aisa: **Why don’t you go on and give them their mission?

**Hendrix: **Of course… One lord within my territory has acted out against me. Lord Thaddeus Bazler is his name. He sent mercenaries to attack a Crest scholar two months ago. Your class was involved with that mission.

**Chris: **You had worked with her at one point, yes?

**Hendrix: **I’d like you to eliminate this lord and any of his remaining soldiers. Such dangers to the Empire cannot be allowed to live.

**Jill: **Is there anything else we should know about him?

  
**Hendrix: **He has been attempting to overthrow Faixnoye rule for quite some time, though I never imagined he’d make such strides against the family directly.

**Chris: **Did he attack you directly?

**Hendrix: **Quiet, girl. Did I give you permission to speak?

**Chris: **…

**Seraphine: **Intense much…? Yikes.

**Hendrix: **You are to defeat him once and for all. Do not leave a single soldier alive. Those who wish ill against the royal family deserve nothing short of death.

**Wolfgang: **We heard in the past that a Crest scholar by the name of Evenor Hepius was once your partner in research. Is this true?

**Hendrix: **Yes, it is. She was researching Crests at my request until twelve years ago. I had no further need of her, and so I let her go.

**Novalee: **No further need of her…? Hm… How odd.

**Chris: **Father, is there anything else you need of us?

**Hendrix: **What did I say about speaking out of line?!

**Chris: **M-My bad…

**Cedric: **Perhaps the time has come for us to take care of him. It’s a noble’s duty to defeat those who have become corrupt, after all.

**Hendrix: **Yes. Return to me once your mission is complete.

**Seraphine: **I can’t wait to leave. He’s so irritating to be around… What’s his deal? How rude can someone be?

_You ask Hendrix if he needs anything else._

**Hendrix: **No…

_He looks at You for a moment longer, his eyes narrowing._

**Hendrix: **You… Who are you?

_You explain that You are a professor for the Officers Academy._

**Hendrix: **I see… Leave at once. You have business to take care of.

_You start to leave with most of the students, but You see Chris is staying behind to speak with Hendrix for a moment longer. You hang back to see how it goes._

**Chris: **Father, please listen--

**Hendrix: **I have nothing to say to you. You disobeyed me, and you will live with the consequences.

**Chris: **I don’t even have a chance to prove that I’m loyal to you?

**Hendrix: **You deserve no chances. You have harmed the Faixnoye family greatly, and I will not be forgiving you for it.

**Chris: **Father, just let me--

**Hendrix: **Leave.

**Chris: **Please, I want to say sorr--

**Hendrix: **Go!

**Aisa: **Perhaps it is best if you go and carry out your mission for the month. There is no time to speak now.

**Chris: **I… I understand…

_Chris looks at him for a moment longer before walking away, brushing past You as she goes._

**Seraphine: **You should talk to her for a second. She looks pretty upset.

_You close the door behind yourself as You go before tapping her on the shoulder._

**Chris: **H-Huh? Oh, sorry, Professor. You shouldn’t have had to see that.

_You ask if Hendrix is always like that._

**Chris: **I guess you could say that… We don’t get along all that well, as I’m sure you could tell. Let’s just say that I made a horrible mistake before coming here, and he didn’t exactly take it well.

**Seraphine: **What could she have possibly done to make him that mad…? Do I even want to know?

**Chris: **My father has set me up with a man for an arranged marriage. He figured it was the perfect chance to expand our influence… He always pushed me to grow closer to my future partner, Arthur. I didn't want to. I spoke of my frustrations with Polly, and my father mistook it for me cheating on Arthur. It was nothing of the sort, but… He thought he had seen enough.

**Seraphine: **Why am I not surprised he jumped to conclusions like that?

**Chris: **I guess he hasn’t gotten over that grudge. It’s fine. If he doesn’t want to talk to me, then that’s his problem.

**Seraphine: **Somehow, I think there’s more to it than just that.

_You tell Chris You are happy to be there for her if she needs it._

**Chris: **I do appreciate it, Professor… Perhaps we should go on with the mission. I’ll deal with this later.

**Seraphine: **She has a point… I’m not eager to move on from this serious subject either, but… I guess we don’t have any other options.

**Chris: **If you’ll excuse me, I… I cannot stay here. You have a mission to take care of, but… F-Forget it. Goodbye, Professor.

_Chris leaves, though You can see tears glistening in her eyes._

**Seraphine: **I don’t think I like the emperor at all after that conversation… Gods above, what an unpleasant man.

_You leave the room silently, thinking about the emperor. Hendrix hasn’t given You a strong first impression, but You cannot call him out on it. That would be a recipe for disaster given his status as the leader of Adrestia. Instead, You remain quiet and keep in mind to stay away from him._

_A few hours later, You and the students arrive in Bazler territory to deal with the lord responsible for such a rebellion._

**Jill:** I did some research on this Lord Bazler character. There aren’t many people who appreciate him.

**Sofia: **Do share your findings with us, Professor.

**Jill:** A lot of nobles know about his horrid behavior regardless of where they live. This is a rumor at the moment, so don’t take it at face value, but there are theories that he’s the leader of an infamous human trafficking ring.

**Wolfgang: **Truly…? If you can believe it, I’ve heard that about the lord from my territory, Lord Columbus…

**Cedric: **What a monster. That goes against everything the nobility stands for. We need to defend the people, not harm them.

**Raithius: **I’ll take this chance to tell you all about what I’ve found out on the matter. He’s been taking people for this as long as anyone can remember, but the emperor hasn’t stood up to him. Emperor Hendrix owes a debt to Lord Bazler, and he won’t go back on it no matter what the situation is.

**Adeline: **I’ve heard that a lot of the hostages are from Brigid or Dagda… Those are territories outside of the continent. They attempted to start a war with the empire back in the day, though we’re all at peace now.

**Lev: **I want to be sick...

**William: **It appears we’ve almost arrived.

**Raithius:** It’s time for us to get in there then. Anybody have any last things to say?

**Novalee:** If he really has been taking people to manipulate as part of his trafficking ring, he’s going to deserve everything that comes to him. We need to do this for the people he’s hurt.

**Adeline: **How awful he is.

**Sofia:** There has to be a way we can get him in trouble, right? I mean, a rebellion is a big deal, but smuggling people for his own gains is worse. He’s not going to want to hold back. The emperor has to understand that, regardless of what debts he may need to fulfill.

**Wolfgang: **We won’t know until the time comes, I suppose.

**William: **I’m sick of all this standing around. Come on. Let’s just do it.

**Novalee:** It appears the waiting period is up.

_Thaddeus Bazler appears on the horizon, mounted on a brown horse. His troops surround him. They’ve taken up a defensive position outside the territory’s mansion._

**Bazler: **Welcome, students of the Officers Academy!

**Raithius: **Lord Bazler.

**Bazler: **The heir of Leicester? What brings you here?

**Raithius: **Rumors of your rebellion. I’ve got orders to defeat you once and for all.

**Bazler: **I see… If that’s the way it must be, perhaps we’ll just have to go along with that…

**William:** There go our chances of diplomacy…

**Sofia: **I don’t think he deserves diplomacy at this point. He’s far past the point of no return, and he deserves to suffer.

**Lev: **I want to know why you went for Ms. Hepius.

**Bazler: **Crests are valuable, kid. They’re power in its purest form. That Crest scholar has the key to giving and removing Crests freely…

**Cedric: **You can’t be serious!

**Wolfgang: **She can give people Crests?!

**Bazler: **She’s a traitor and a scoundrel… She brought it on herself.

**Adeline: **What is that supposed to mean?

**Novalee:** I don’t think he’ll be giving us an answer.

**Wolfgang:** Perish, monster!

**Bazler: **Well, don’t you look nice… If you need somewhere to go after the school year--

_Wolfgang casts a light spell at Bazler._

**Wolfgang: **Quiet already, scoundrel!

**Bazler: **Feisty… Fine. If that’s how this has to be. Men! To battle!

**Raithius: **I’ve had enough of listening to this guy talk.

**Jill: **Students! It’s time to fight!

_There are multiple types of soldiers seen around the battlefield. There are many soldiers wearing black armor, showing they are part of the group Malice. There are other soldiers wearing ragged clothing and using weapons that are barely held together. All fighters from the second group are underaged boys and girls._

**Raithius: **If we needed proof of the trafficking, we’ve found it.

**Novalee:** Judging by their appearances, they seem to be from Brigid or Dagda, though there are some from Albinea dropped in as well. I doubt they’re doing this willingly.

**Adeline: **We have to save them.

**William: **What monster would go so far?

**Lev: **Look at how young they all are…

**Wolfgang: **Everybody, avoid the soldiers who aren’t in black armor! They’re the slaves Bazler has been trafficking!

**Cedric:** They look so ill…

**Sofia:** I can’t wait to kill him for this…

**Seraphine: **Are all nobles like this? They’re really coming off as unpleasant and awful, you know…

_The battle properly begins. The Golden Deer are already showing signs of growth, having learned to slash freely through the enemy. The group keeps the youthful soldiers not in black safe to the best of their abilities. If one of your units speaks with a youth, the youth will change to green and start trying to escape._

_If You speak to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Youth: **You’re here to save me?! Thank you so much! I’ll leave now!

**Seraphine: **There’s one down…

_If Raithius speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **You’re not from around here, are you?

**Youth: **Yes…

**Raithius: **Get away from this place. I’ll save you.

**Youth: **Thank you so much!

_If Novalee speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Novalee:** You’re a hostage… Get as far away from this land as you can. We’ll handle Bazler.

**Youth: **Thank you! I-I’ll get right out of here!

_If Sofia speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Sofia: **See? I’m putting my weapon down. I’m going to help you out. Run away. Bazler won’t be able to chase you.

**Youth: **Thank you, kind lady!

_If Wolfgang speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Wolfgang: **What sort of man would do this to innocent people… I’m going to save you. Please, leave this place behind.

**Youth: **Alright! I’ll go now!

_If Cedric speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Cedric: **I don’t know who he thinks he is… Run. Now.

**Youth: **Thank you so much…!

_If William speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**William: **I’m not here to defeat you. Please, leave.

**Youth: **Thank you!

_If Adeline speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Adeline: **I’m sorry you had to go through this. I want you to run.

**Youth: **I-I will!

_If Lev speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Lev: **I-I truly don’t understand the whims of nobles, wanting to harm people who didn’t do anything wrong… Please, escape…

**Youth: **Thank you...

_If Jill speaks to one of the youths, this dialogue plays out._

**Jill: **I’ve had enough of the way that man treats people like you. Please, find a better life out there.

**Youth: **I-I will…!

_If all the youths escape, You will receive one item for each stat at the end of this fight. For every two youths killed, one item will be taken away._

_If You initiate combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**Bazler: **Well, what do we have here? A teacher from the school? Pathetic… You do look familiar though… Hmph. It matters not. Goodnight, Professor!

_If Raithius initiates combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **I don’t think I’ve been this fired up in a long time. I know I’m going to enjoy this.

**Bazler: **You act like you know what you’re doing… How pathetic. You’ll fall before me!

**Raithius: **Not if I take you out first!

_If Novalee initiates combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**Bazler: **You have the Crest of Goneril… I see. You’re the bastard that Josephine keeps going on about.

**Novalee: **I am not under any obligation to speak to you.

**Bazler: **If you want to keep being like that, then fine. You’ll just have to deal with the consequences. She wasn’t able to put you down, so I’ll just have to!

_If William initiates combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**William: **You said that Ms. Hepius can give and take Crests as she pleases.

**Bazler:** I see you were listening.

**William: **How could I not listen to something like that?

**Bazler:** Keep the sass to yourself. I’m sick of this. Goodbye, pathetic child.

_If Wolfgang initiates combat against Bazler, this dialogue plays out._

**Bazler: **You look familiar… I see. You look like Lord Columbus.

**Wolfgang: **L-Lord Columbus? What does he have to do with anything?

**Bazler: **His Canis Mafia helps me out greatly, as I’m sure you’re aware… You must be… Oh, never mind. That doesn’t matter. I hope he can forgive me for killing you!

**Wolfgang: **You won’t be killing anyone today!

_When Bazler is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Bazler: **Ugh… You’re… Terrible… Stains…

_After the battle, the group stands before Bazler._

**Bazler: **You’re all stains… Terrors to Adrestia…

**Raithius:** What made you do this? Why did you start the rebellion?

**Bazler: **The emperor is a fool… He pretends to be in power, keeping everyone under his thumb, but it’s never enough for him…

**Raithius:** That’s… That’s all you have to say for yourself?!

**Bazler: **He deserves this all… Everything that’s coming to him! The Faixnoye line has destroyed Adrestia for far too long!

**Raithius: **If you won’t give us the truth, then fine. Goodbye, Bazler.

**Bazler: **I wouldn’t be so sure.

_Bazler claps his hands, and a small group of ambush troops appears from the trees. He gets to his feet and runs away. The Golden Deer struggle with the ambush troops for a few minutes as Bazler disappears off into the distance. Once their lord is gone, the troops leave, and the territory is abandoned._

**Seraphine: **We have to go after him!

**William: **We have to go after him! Come on!

**Novalee:** For now, we need to let him go. We have other things to take care of at the moment. Going after him now would put us at a disadvantage. We don’t know how many troops he has.

**Adeline: **Plus, we need to free the hostages.

**Cedric: **Who knows how long they’ve been here?

**Lev: **Nobody knows how long this was going on, and he still got away with it…

**Wolfgang: **Just the thought makes me sick.

**Sofia: **Everybody in the empire is going to be trying to find him now. On top of that, the church wants him dead. He’ll be taken care of without a doubt.

**Novalee: **Not even the emperor can continue to protect him with the knowledge that he tried to start a rebellion.

**Jill: **He won’t be getting away scot-free.

**Raithius:** Let’s get to work. These people aren’t going to free themselves.

_The rest of the group walks away to get to work. Seraphine appears before You._

**Seraphine: **Thaddeus Bazler… What a monstrous pile of trash. He was keeping so many young people hostage here without a shred of regret.

_You think of how he never showed signs of caring for what he had done._

**Seraphine: **He wanted us all to die, and he was willing to sacrifice innocent, malnourished children to reach that end… Disgusting.

_A youth appears in front of You before You have a chance to reply._

**Youth: **Thank you for all you did for us today… Here. Take this.

_You receive all the stat items that You earned from the battle._

**Youth: **Goodbye. Thank you again.

_The youth walks away._

**Seraphine: **So hurt, and yet they still tried to do something for us… They really all did deserve better.

_A few hours later, the group arrives back at the monastery. In the primary chamber where Aisa regularly stays, there are four people. These three are Aisa, Roy, Chris, and Hendrix. They were not talking when You entered, instead merely standing in the silence and waiting for You to return. Chris still seems upset, but she is hiding the signs better now, though she refuses to look at her father. When You appear, Aisa looks up._

**Aisa: **Ah… Greetings, Professor. I see that you have returned from your mission.

**Roy: **What happened to Lord Bazler?

**Hendrix: **I hope you killed him. Any people who stand up against the empire deserve nothing short of death.

**Lev:** I’m sorry…

**Jill: **He escaped, but we do have evidence of what he has done.

**Novalee: **We found paperwork to show that he had been running a human trafficking ring with other nobles on the continent. Brigid, Dagda, and Albinea were the homes of most of the hostages.

**Cedric:** After we find him, he will be prosecuted immediately. He cannot be allowed to escape for his crimes against the common people.

**Hendrix: **I don’t care about that right now! He acted against the empire, and he cannot be allowed to live!

**Chris: **I-I’m sorry it went like this, Father… I promise you, I’ll--

**Hendrix: **Quiet! You didn’t even come close to the battlefield, girl!

**Chris: **…

**Wolfgang: **He admitted to being the one who sent mercenaries to attack the Crest scholar Evenor Hepius a few months ago.

**Adeline: **He claimed that she knew how to distribute Crests at will.

**William: **That can’t be real, right?

**Raithius: **If she spent so many years digging into the basic facts behind Crests, she could have cracked the code.

**Sofia: **If it’s true… That could change the face of history.

**Aisa: **I see… Church troops will make a move to arrest Lord Bazler as soon as possible.

**Roy: **Thank you for your work, students. You may return to your classroom now.

_The students all leave the room with Reese. Chris stays behind, and You do as well._

**Hendrix: **I must return to Adrestia now.

**Chris: **Father, I--

**Hendrix: **Don’t speak to me. You didn’t even grace the field of battle. I am very disappointed.

**Chris: **I… I understand…

**Hendrix: **Farewell.

_Hendrix leaves._

**Chris: **Um… I’ll be on my way as well…

_Chris leaves._

**Aisa: **Thank you for your help, Professor. You have done a lot for the church on this day.

**Roy: **We will be working with the people you freed from Bazler’s territory to find better lives for all those taken.

**Aisa: **I had heard rumors of what he was doing, but I didn’t realize it was so expansive…

**Roy: **He has been doing such for twenty-five years, according to Nesreen. She relayed all the information your troops found on the field to us.

**Seraphine: **Twenty-five years?!

**Aisa: **There was much harm done by his lust for power… We won’t be able to do much for the people who have lived with this for their whole lives.

**Roy: **His father, the previous Lord Bazler, was involved in this as well. It has a fifty-year history in total.

**Seraphine: **I can’t believe nobody tried to stop him… What’s the point of the nobility system if it means some people are ruled over without a say? I mean, nobles are supposed to protect their territory, but they aren’t doing a good job if they let somebody get away with this.

**Aisa: **He had contact with a noble in Leicester, and as far as we are aware, he was tied with the previous king of Faerghus somehow. The connection is unclear…

**Roy: **We’ll be looking into this Leicester noble, Lord Wenlock Columbus, in case he merits further investigation.

**Aisa: **For now, please go on about your business.

_You nod and leave the room._

**Seraphine: **The emperor is a lot worse than we thought… For one, he mistreats his daughter. On top of that, he let Bazler get away with this until it directly inconvenienced him. Both sides are awful, but I see why somebody would want to rebel against him.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **Let’s just get to the classroom.

_When You arrive at the classroom, the students are all standing together with Jill._

**Jill: **That was our biggest fight thus far. What can I even say about what happened that hasn’t already been said?

**Lev: **I’m exhausted…

**Sofia:** I need to think about all of this.

**Cedric: **Nobles have a reputation among common people because of men like him. Some are so incredibly selfish… It’s disgusting.

**William: **Overthrowing nobles wouldn’t be possible for a small group to take care of, at least as far as I can tell.

**Adeline: **This is awful.

**Wolfgang: **Who would want to do this? It’s absolutely disgusting.

**Novalee:** I don’t even know how many people we saved today… But even so, no matter what we did, it won’t help them forget about what happened.

**Sofia: **And he got away with it.

**Lev: **He has to be found, right?

**Cedric: **The church will make sure he’s caught.

**Adeline: **I’m going to bed. Goodnight, everyone.

**Wolfgang: **Nobles are… Never mind. See you later.

**Novalee: **What he did was disgusting.

**William: **I’m going to bed… I need to think about all this.

_The students all head out with Jill. The only other person in the classroom is Raithius. You ask her what is on her mind._

**Raithius: **Well… We found something out there today. There was a lot of paperwork with Lord Bazler, but he wasn’t the only person involved.

**Seraphine: **Maybe he’s going to tell us about that Leicester lord.

**Raithius: **Lord Wenlock Columbus of Columbus territory was involved with this as well. Lord Columbus is not a good man. No, that’s putting it lightly. He’s one of the most hated men in both Leicester and the whole continent because of what he’s done in the past. You see… He leads an infamous mafia.

**Seraphine: **A mafia? What is that supposed to mean?

_You ask her Seraphine’s question._

**Raithius: **He helped Lord Bazler and King Franz to smuggle Albineans across the continent. Albinea is a colony of Faerghus, by the way. They’ve been at war since Albinea wants its independence. Lord Columbus has been involved in this for as long as he’s been in charge of his territory, which is about twenty years.

**Seraphine: **I’d love to know more about this man…

**Raithius: **He’s a horrible man. He runs the Canis Mafia and is known for his extortion of people in his territory. He has everybody under his thumb just to feed his sick desires.

**Seraphine: **Are any nobles on this continent good people?!

**Raithius: **I found a document talking about Lord Columbus’ involvement in this whole thing. He’s been working with Lord Bazler ever since his territory was established all those years ago. In other words, he’s somebody that we need to be investigating. Somebody involved with Lord Bazler right now is suspicious. If Lord Bazler started a rebellion, Lord Columbus could as well.

**Seraphine: **That makes sense…

**Raithius: **Lord Columbus isn’t somebody you want to involve yourself with… I’m afraid I can’t give you many more details than that given the situation we’re in right now, but I doubt that we’ll be leaving him alone this whole year… I’ll tell you if I find out anything else about him. Promise… Ah, I guess I kind of rambled there.

_You assure her he is fine._

**Raithius: **Thanks for this, Professor. I’m going to head to bed, and you should too. Goodnight, Professor.

_Raithius leaves the classroom quickly._

**Seraphine:** What a disgusting man… If he’s really involved with Bazler, he’s got to be horrible. You know, if what Raithius told us wasn’t bad enough.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **I’m starting to wonder if any good nobles exist… Either way, it’s not something I can answer today. Let’s go to bed.

_You start back to your room. When You arrive, Seraphine doesn’t say anything about the events of the day. She goes to sleep without so much as a goodnight, which is abnormal for her. Given the events of the day, You suspect that for the second month in a row, Seraphine is questioning the way F_ _ódlan is run given the questionable state of the class system. You do not comment on it and go to sleep silently, though it takes You quite some time to sleep. Questions dance through your mind about the continent, its values, and the people who make it run. You hold doubts about Fódlan, but You do not voice them and let sleep claim You..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's the end of chapter four yeet
> 
> -Digital


	29. Chapter Five: Beneath the Surface I (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You look around the monastery after learning Florence has gone missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: Actually posted the right version this time.

_You wake up on the first Sunday of the next month, the Verdant Moon. When You look around, Seraphine appears immediately._

**Seraphine: **I have a bad feeling about today… I can’t really put a finger on it.

_You nod your agreement. Something is going on, but You are not sure what it is. Despite this, You get to your feet and walk to see Aisa. Seraphine follows You silently, looking around to see if she can determine what is bothering her so much._

_When You arrive in Aisa’s room, You see Aisa and Roy standing together with a frown._

**Aisa: **Professor, I’m afraid I come with bad news.

**Seraphine: **Gods above… Please don’t tell me anybody died.

**Roy: **One of our students has gone missing…

**Seraphine: **What?!

**Aisa: **I’m afraid that Florence of the Black Eagle House has disappeared… It has been a few days since we’ve seen her, and there aren’t any traces of her around the monastery.

**Seraphine: **Well, that explains why we were feeling weird… But who could have taken her? Who would want to take her?

**Roy: **We’ve searched the monastery top to bottom but have ultimately come up short. I’m sorry to say this, but we aren’t sure what happened.

**Aisa: **Originally, we were going to have your class investigate the full truth behind a Leicester lord’s involvement with Lord Bazler, but… That is going to have to be put on hold until we find out where Florence has gone to.

**Roy: **Even so, we will try to go on with life as normally as possible. You will still pick a house and teach those students in the coming weeks. This whole month, you will be searching for Florence on the side.

**Aisa: **I’m truly sorry you had to find out this way, Professor.

**Seraphine: **How could they just lose a student? If she was running away, wouldn’t you expect her to show more signs of upset? No… I don’t think she ran away. If you want my opinion, somebody took her. She always seemed happy here. Why would she run off if she was happy?

_You can’t help but agree with her. You are sure Florence was kidnapped. You propose this to Aisa and Roy._

**Roy: **We believe she was kidnapped as well… Of course, we don’t truly have any evidence on the matter right now, but it seems odd that she’d just go missing all of a sudden.

**Aisa: **I’ve been trying to find Herwig to tell him that something is amiss, but I have been unable to contact him. I fear something has happened to him as well.

**Seraphine: **Teacher and student? How strange… Is there anything that could further connect the two?

_You ask if Herwig and Florence are connected beyond merely being teacher and student._

**Aisa: **Herwig was the one who recruited Florence to the Academy to begin with. It’s rare for commoners to get into the Black Eagles, but he insisted that she was something special. I can’t say what his reasoning was.

**Roy: **He claimed she was interesting in some way he couldn’t really explain to us until he was sure. He refused to share even his suspicions.

**Seraphine: **If Florence was the target of these mysterious kidnappers, maybe they took the professor because of their connection.

**Aisa: **We ask that you investigate both of their rooms to see if there are any signs of what happened.

**Roy: **Please report back to us after you’ve found something, assuming you do notice anything at the scene.

**Aisa: **For now though, you must select which house you wish to follow. Go on. Make your choice.

_You decide to follow the Black Eagles after putting in some thought._

**Roy: **You will be going with the Black Eagles?

_You confirm your choice._

**Aisa: **I am glad to hear that you are so sure of yourself… Now, go and visit the students of this house. I’m sure they’ll need your guidance in these trying times.

_You start your walk to the Black Eagles homeroom._

**Seraphine: **If you ask me, we should check for signs of a struggle in their rooms after seeing the students. If there’s nothing… Then I don’t know what we’ll do.

_You enter the homeroom to see the remaining seven Black Eagles standing together._

**Chris: **Professor… Thank you for coming by.

**Polly: **I take it that you’ve already heard about what happened to Florence.

_You ask how it came out that Florence was missing._

**Tuncay: **After that last mission, we figured that she just needed some time to herself in her room.

**Aquillus: **We learned a lot while in Bazler lands and thought she just needed some time to think things over.

**Callisto: **The same applied to Professor Wessin. We didn’t want to bother them too much.

**Chris: **I mean, I locked myself away for a while and turned out fine…

**Hegias: **We figured everything was normal up until last night, actually.

**Zelhira: **You should speak with the knight Yuliya if you want more details.

**Chris: **Um… I couldn’t sleep last night, so I decided to walk around the monastery. I ran into Yuliya while I was out, and we wound up coming upstairs. When we arrived, we heard rattling from inside Professor Wessin’s room, but it didn’t sound like him. Somebody was talking in there too.

**Polly: **They forced the door open, and there was somebody wearing all black inside. Soon after, they teleported away using some kind of magic.

**Zelhira: **They left a paper with a symbol on the floor… I’m sure you remember the Crest of Lamine from a while ago. We suspected that you had it, but we were wrong in the end.

**Aquillus: **Nobody knows what to do with this information though…

**Tuncay: **After that, Chess and Yelling raised all sorts of hell in getting us up last night. We tried to check on Flower too, but we didn’t hear anything from her room.

**Aquillus: **Translation: Chris and Yuliya woke us up, but Florence wasn’t in her room.

**Tuncay: **That’s what I said.

**Hegias: **We forced open her door too, and we found the same thing as in Professor Wessin’s room. It was empty, but there was a paper with the Crest of Lamine on the floor.

**Seraphine: **All this talk about the Crest of Lamine all of a sudden… Nobody here at the monastery has it. What the hell could make it so important?

**Chris: **What’s our mission this month, Professor? Normally, Professor Wessin would tell us, but… He’s not here right now…

_You say that You will be searching for Florence and Herwig in the coming month._

**Polly: **Understood. We should get to it then, huh?

**Aquillus: **We should tell each other immediately if we find out anything of note. How does that sound?

**Zelhira: **I’m going to start looking around as soon as possible.

**Hegias: **Me too… Good luck, everybody.

**Callisto: **Professor Wessin… Florence… Please be okay.

_The students all leave the classroom._

**Seraphine: **We should get to searching as well. We can’t let this go on for much longer. It only puts them at further risk, and they’re probably suffering enough as it is… Come on. Let’s do it.

_You leave the classroom to begin looking around the monastery. Once You enter the Officers Academy courtyard, You are met by Magnolia and Falon._

**Magnolia: **Florence really did go missing… And same with Professor Wessin… I can’t help but wonder what could have happened.

**Falon: **Me too… I mean, there must be a reason they were taken, but I don’t think I’ll ever understand it.

**Magnolia: **Ah, Professor! You’re looking around for Florence and Professor Wessin, right?

_You nod._

**Falon: **Good luck… Not even the church officials could find anything. I don’t know about you, but that gives me a bad feeling…

_Also standing in the courtyard is Wolfgang, who is stroking Olive fondly._

**Wolfgang: **I’ve had Olive searching the school to see if anybody suspicious is around… She lost her mind last night, you know. She seemed to sense that something was wrong. If you ask me, that must have been the same time that Yuliya and Chris saw somebody messing around in Professor Wessin’s room… I don’t like this at all.

_You leave the courtyard to enter the Golden Deer homeroom. Lev stands inside._

**Lev: **What if something bad happened to them? I mean, it’s bad enough that they’ve already gone missing, but what if they’re dead? What if somebody killed them? Oh, gods above… I don’t pray particularly often, but I think I might pay the cathedral a visit to ask the goddess for their safety…

_You leave the Officers Academy behind to enter the training hall. Inside, there are two people, who You recognize as Cedric and Wynne. You approach Cedric first._

**Cedric: **I’ve looked all over the monastery for Florence and Professor Wessin, but I’ve come up short each time. I’ve had enough of just walking around mindlessly. I’m going to make sure I get strong enough to rescue them when we finally determine where they are… I refuse to think that we’ll be too late. It simply can’t be the case.

_You walk up to Wynne next._

**Wynne: **Hm… I feel really weird about all of this. I mean, I’ve been hearing bumps in the night for a while, but I didn’t ever expect it to go this far.

_You ask what he means._

**Wynne: **Just sounds… Mostly rustling at night. I thought it was the wind or something, but it was loud and coming from the garden each time. Why would it be so loud there? I mean, there might be more plants there, but there are plants everywhere… Oh, well. You can decide how to use that information.

_You walk away from the training hall to head in the direction of the nearby dorms. You see Hegias standing outside the dorms._

**Hegias: **I can’t help but wonder how the Crest of Lamine ties into all of this… Nobody at the monastery has the Crest of Lamine, so why would it be so involved? We have every other Crest here this year. Why focus on that one in particular? It seems odd… I wish I knew what made it so special all of a sudden.

_Further down the row, You run into Zelhira, who is standing outside Florence’s room._

**Zelhira: **There you are, Professor. Come in. Look for yourself.

_You look around the room and notice that it is a mess. Clothing is strewn everywhere, and the books have been thrown on the ground haphazardly. In the center of the ground is the symbol for the Crest of Lamine on a piece of parchment._

**Zelhira: **It doesn’t really look like a struggle… It seems more like somebody came in here looking for something and didn’t find it. As for what it could be, I’m afraid I don’t know. I’m going to stay here and make sure the scene isn’t disturbed. Come back whenever you’d like.

**Seraphine: **How strange… Who would want to snoop in Florence’s room? Why would they leave that paper on the floor like that? I don’t get it.

_You head up to the second floor of dorms. You see one person at the end of the row, and You realize it is Chris upon getting closer._

**Chris: **Everything that’s happened so far this year makes me feel sick… First, there was that Crest scholar incident. After that, we discovered an army planning to overthrow Faerghus. Then, we had to deal with Lord Bazler and my father. Now, we’ve got two people missing… I don’t know what to do. I hate it though… You already know everything that happened when I realized Florence was gone, so I won’t bore you with the details… Just… Help us find her, okay? I’m scared out of my mind.

_You head back downstairs and see Nora standing alone in the greenhouse._

**Nora: **If you ask me, Malice has something to do with this. I’m sure of it. Everything up to this point has involved Malice. Why would this be any different? I don’t know what the full truth is, but they have to be tied into this somehow… I just don’t know how…

_You leave the greenhouse to go to the fishing hole. The fishing hole has one person of note standing near it, and that person is Nesreen._

**Nesreen: **I haven’t found anything related to the disappearances of Herwig or Florence. I’ve searched the monastery top to bottom multiple times. I’ve asked surrounding towns if any people have seen anything. Nothing… If you ask me, whoever did this never left the monastery. They’re still here. No magic could teleport them that great a distance… Florence and Herwig are here.

_You leave the fishing hole and head to the stables, where You see Rodain._

**Rodain: **Hm… I wish I knew where those two got off to. Lady Aisa finally gave us knights a mission. We’re supposed to check the monastery and the surrounding towns on a daily basis. I’m heading out in a few hours to see what’s going on… I hope we can find something sooner rather than later.

_Also in the stables is Adrian, who You approach next._

**Adrian: **This disappearance incident is only worrying me further… You know, last year, Professor Wessin was my teacher too. To think that something bad could have happened to him… I hope they turn up soon. I don’t know what I’ll do if we lose him…

_You leave the stables to enter the knights’ hall. Cordelia and Kaeta stand together near a training dummy._

**Cordelia: **Kaeta, have you searched for Florence and Herwig yet today?

**Kaeta: **Yeah… I checked the garden, but something seemed off to me. Have there always been that many bushes in there?

**Cordelia: **Why wouldn’t there be bushes in the garden…?

**Kaeta: **I don’t know. Something about it just seemed weird. Maybe we should try and investigate it in the future.

**Cordelia: **Hm… I’ll have to keep it in mind.

_You head down to the marketplace next. Once there, You run into Tuncay._

**Tuncay: **You know, I sort of wonder when Flower was taken… I mean, a lot of people were upset enough to hide away in their rooms after that last mission. Even if a house didn’t go out for the mission, we had a lot of thinking to do. I mean, Chess didn’t get out until last night when we realized Flower was gone… What if she’s been gone for longer than we realize? I don’t like this one bit.

_You head into the entrance hall just north of the marketplace. Inside, there are a few clusters of people. You see Raithius and Novalee standing together._

**Raithius: **Lord Columbus is tied into everything that’s been happening… I don’t like that.

**Novalee: **I don’t either… He’s never been a kind man, and this… This only makes things worse.

**Raithius: **His connections to Bazler are concerning. If Canis is truly involved in all this--

**Novalee: **Ah, hello, Professor… Forgive us. Keep going on about your business.

**Seraphine: **I guess they’re talking about that Leicester lord… I guess they’d both know about him…

_Further into the reception hall is Illona._

**Illona: **The Crest of Lamine… There’s one house in Faerghus that has it. It’s really stingy with people who have Crests. Anybody with a Crest is trapped in that house forever. Those who don’t have Crests are tossed aside like trash… I wonder if that house is truly involved in what happened to Florence and Professor Wessin…

_Also inside the entrance hall is Karim, who You approach next._

**Karim: **I have a bad feeling about whatever happened to Florence… It can’t be good, whatever it is. She’s never shown signs of having a Crest before, so why would there suddenly be a symbol for the Crest of Lamine in her room? It doesn’t make sense… Plus, she’s from Adrestia, and Lamine is a Faerghus house. How weird.

_The final person in the entrance hall is Piers, and You walk up to him next._

**Piers: **I’ve checked all the surrounding towns already today. I’m utterly exhausted. I know everyone has good intentions in trying to find her, but I’m starting to wonder if she really wants to be found… Even if she does, we could be too late. Whatever happened, it’s bad, but I’m sure you already knew that.

_You walk into the reception hall next, and You run into Polly and Kyle soon after entering the room._

**Kyle: **Polly, I know that a lot has happened as of late… Perhaps we should try and unwind… We could try to take our minds off this.

**Polly: **I can’t just forget about this. It’s not an option for me at the moment. I need to find them.

**Kyle: **But you won’t be able to help anyone if you’re exhausted… Come on. Let’s go and try to calm down for a moment…

**Polly: **No… I need to make sure that they’re okay first… That’s my first priority.

**Kyle: **Polly…

_Sensing that they are discussing something serious, You walk away. Next, You run into Miriam, who is standing alone._

**Miriam: **You know, I checked for Florence’s mount. If she had really run away, she would have taken her pegasus with her… And yet, the pegasus is still here. If that’s not proof of suspicious actions, then I don’t know what is. I’m going to take care of the pegasus until Florence returns, but… I can tell she misses her rider already.

_The final person in the reception hall is Sofia, and You walk up to her._

**Sofia: **Florence… I always wanted to get to know her better, though I would be lying if I said I knew how to go about something like that. Now, there’s the chance that she’ll never come back again, and if she does, she’ll never be the same again… I don’t like that. Florence, please be okay… For all of our sakes.

_You head north further towards the cathedral. On the bridge there, You run into Callisto, who is staring over the edge silently._

**Callisto: **Florence… If I’m honest, she always made me feel a bit more normal around here. I mean, she’s one of the only other commoners at the school, and being in the same house made me even more comfortable. I hope that she’s alright… Please be alright…

_You fully enter the cathedral. Inside, You encounter Aquillus rather quickly._

**Aquillus: **I wish I could tell you that I had found something to show where Florence went… I’m afraid I don’t know what to do from here. Everybody I’ve asked says they know nothing, and I can tell they’re being honest… If you ask me, whoever did this isn’t involved with the monastery.

_The next people You encounter in the cathedral are Aestlyn and Cassia, who You approach._

**Aestlyn: **Everything has been moving so fast… I was under the impression that the Officers Academy was a way to hone one’s skills free of risk, but… It seems that was false.

**Cassia: **Something about this year is strange… There’s been many more fights than you’d expect, and they’re all so dangerous… I bet Florence got caught up in it as well.

**Aestlyn: **I would assume the same… I hope nothing else bad happens to the rest of us…

**Cassia: **I hope we’re alright too… After all, what good are we to Florence if we’re caught as well?

_You approach William next._

**William: **I’ve probably told you this before, but… I didn’t know I had a Crest until shortly before I came to the Officers Academy. I wonder if the same applies to Florence with the Crest of Lamine… Wouldn’t that be something else?

_The final person in the cathedral, Adeline, is standing nearby. You walk up to her._

**Adeline: **Columbus territory isn’t far from my home… I heard that Lord Columbus is involved from Raithius and Novalee. Columbus territory isn’t somewhere you want to be… That’s putting it nicely. After we leave the Academy, if you go off to find work… Stay far away from Columbus lands. It’s for your own safety.

_You leave the cathedral behind and walk upstairs. Once upstairs, You go to your first destination, which is the library. Inside, You encounter Niko and Derric._

**Derric: **I’ve been searching for any other references of Malice, but… I can’t find anything.

**Niko: **Me neither… It seems so odd. If they’ve truly been active for so long, why is there so little information?

**Derric: **The information that we do have doesn’t say anything about them taking people randomly…

**Niko: **Whatever this is, I don’t like it… Malice is planning something big, and Florence is just part of their scheme…

_You leave the library and head for the professor dorms. The only dorm that’s open is Herwig’s, and You see Yuliya inside it._

**Yuliya: **I’m sure you’ve already heard the full story about what happened… I was out on night watch, and that was when I heard sounds coming from the room. When the door was forced open, there were traces of magic in the air, and this paper was left behind… I wish I could tell you anything more, but I’m just as clueless as you are. It’s so odd…

_You make for the cardinals’ room, and inside, You see Reese and Jill talking._

**Reese: **Ah, Professor… We were just saying how good it is that we have you around right now.

**Jill: **With Herwig gone, we’re down one professor… It would be a disaster if we didn’t have you around. That would put Roy on babysitting duty.

**Reese: **He’s a good assistant to the archbishop, but he can get so caught up in gaining the affection of the students…

**Jill: **In other words, thank the goddess that you’re the one who can watch over the kids if they need it… I really don’t like having to clean up Roy’s messes. I love the guy, but… Yikes. He is not a teacher.

_You walk to the room where Aisa and Roy are located._

**Roy: **So, Professor… Have you looked around for any traces of Herwig or Florence?

_You nod and tell them what You have learned._

**Aisa: **So, the paper found in both their rooms only appeared after they went missing… I saw it earlier in the morning. It doesn’t look like a page from any book.

**Roy: **It’s acting as a calling card, in other words.

**Aisa: **I fear that may be the case…

**Roy: **And the garden… It appears that is a point of interest for us to investigate.

**Aisa: **I do not know what could be there… But we need to check it out.

_You nod your agreement._

**Aisa: **Thank you for the report, Professor. You may go.

_As You leave, Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **I’m wiped… Enough of the drama. Let’s hit the hay.

_You head to your room and sit on your bed._

**Seraphine: **Something happened to Florence and Herwig… It’s suspected that they were kidnapped… I don’t know what to do with that sort of information. I mean, it’s not like we can just go out and save them now, right? That’s out of the question… Gods above, this is frustrating… We’ll just have to keep looking tomorrow. For now, goodnight.

_You fall asleep soon after. Even in your dreams, You hope for a clue to come to You, but nothing does, leaving your sleep dull and upsetting as answers escape You for one night more..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is coming a day early since I'm going dark on the regular update day oof
> 
> -Digital


	30. Chapter Five: Beneath the Surface II (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go with the Black Eagles and Cordelia to investigate Florence and Herwig's disappearances.

_At the end of the month, You stand in the Black Eagles homeroom with the class._

**Chris: **Alright… So, we need to go and find Florence, right?

**Polly: **Right now, the general consensus is that something is going on inside the garden.

**Tuncay: **In that case, what are we waiting for? Let’s just get in there.

**Hegias: **We need to wait for a bit longer… Somebody is actually going to be joining us for today.

**Aquillus: **That’s right… I wasn’t sure if it was true, but it must be if I wasn’t the only one who heard it.

**Zelhira: **I’m afraid I don’t understand…

**Callisto: **And there she is now.

_The door opens as Cordelia enters the room._

**Cordelia: **Well, let’s jump right into this. We’ve got some people to save.

**Chris: **You… You’re the knight captain, right?

**Cordelia: **I am. Captain Torryn reporting for duty. The archbishop asked that I come with you on this mission to make sure nothing went horribly wrong. If there are no further objections, then we can get going now.

**Chris: **Okay… Off we go then.

_You leave the classroom to head in the direction of the garden. Seraphine walks at your side._

**Seraphine: **If the garden is really the place where everything happened, then let’s hope nothing bad happens to us here… I don’t want to be the next victim of kidnapping.

_You stop in front of a large bush in the garden. Cordelia points to it and shakes her head._

**Cordelia: **Unnatural… Something is going on here. This doesn’t seem like it belongs. It’s so much bigger than everything else in the area, but they should be the same age and same size.

_Cordelia parts the greenery, and inside, You see a secret passage._

**Tuncay: **Damn… That’s a hallway.

**Aquillus: **Looks like we’ve found something worth investigating.

**Cordelia: **I heard people saying that there was something wrong in the garden, but I didn’t expect this.

**Callisto: **Why are we still standing around up here? Florence and Professor Wessin need us down there.

**Polly: **I must agree. We can’t wait any longer.

_Cordelia starts into the passage._

**Cordelia: **It’s much larger than you’d expect… I mean, the opening is pretty small, but once you get down here, it’s huge… And it’s old, too.

**Hegias: **Where did it come from? How long has it been here?

**Zelhira: **The monastery is old enough to be filled with countless passages like this. It’s almost a thousand years old, meaning that nobody alive right now was around for its construction. There are enough secrets here that they would take multiple decades to uncover.

**Chris: **I guess we’ll just have to be the first ones to jump in there then…

**Polly: **If it really opens up as much as Captain Torryn says, we have no reason to be so afraid of the tight space…

**Hegias: **We’ll be fine… Let’s go.

_The rest of the students go inside of the passage, and You take up the rear._

**Seraphine: **It might open up down here, but there’s no space for me to stand without getting walked through. I’m sick of this. See you around.

_Seraphine retreats in your mind._

**Cordelia: **Quiet, everyone… I hear noise.

_The students fall silent as the group stops. The passage has widened out to show a large room beneath the ground. On the floor just before the entrance are two figures._

**Cordelia: **That’s Florence and Herwig!

**Polly: **They’re both unconscious…!

**Aquillus: **We need to get medical attention for them both. Immediately.

**Hegias: **Wait! Look up there!

_You follow Hegias’ direction and see a cluster of mages wearing black robes scattered about the room. They all have distorted Crests sewn into their robes._

**Zelhira: **Those markings… They must be Malice mages.

**Tuncay: **That’s not the only weird thing going on… Check out Florence again.

_You focus your attention to Florence once more. A Crest has activated above her head despite her being unconscious, and it doesn’t take You long to recognize the symbol._

**Callisto: **That’s the Crest of Lamine!

**Cordelia: **I’ve had enough of waiting around. We have to get in there.

_Cordelia enters the room fully._

**Cordelia: **Hey!

_The mages in the room all turn to face her. The leader steps forward. His name is Glendon._

**Glendon: **Damn it all!

**Chris: **What are we going to do with Florence and Professor Wessin?!

**Cordelia: **There are too many of them for us to just send somebody off to have them healed. We’re short on troops as it is.

**Polly: **We’ll just have to protect them while pushing forward, right?

**Cordelia: **Exactly.

**Zelhira: **I don’t see any pressing external injuries… I believe we’re alright to leave them be for now, but we still need to act quickly.

**Aquillus: **We can’t do anything that could put them at risk… Caution is advised.

**Tuncay: **So, Professor… Are we ready to jump into this?

_You nod._

**Hegias: **In that case, there’s not a moment to lose!

_The battle begins. The Black Eagles fight violently against the mages, being careful to defend Florence and Herwig during the battle. However, things do not remain peaceful, and a Crest activates over one of the mages’ heads during the battle. Note: this particular mage is predetermined to activate the Crest of Dominic whenever fought for the first time. Rion’s Unio Crest is also guaranteed to trigger during this fight the first time they initiate combat. Every enemy on this battlefield has a randomly generated Crest, though Unio and the Crest of Flames are kept out of the rotation._

**Cordelia: **Wait… Did you see that?!

**Chris: **That was a Crest! And the same one painted on their robes…

**Polly: **What could all of this mean?

**Zelhira: **I have no idea… How could they have gotten their hands on a Crest?

**Tuncay: **Remember what we heard from Bazler last month?

**Callisto: **Some have figured out how to give and take away Crests…

**Aquillus: **In other words, the chances of these Crests being legitimate are slim.

**Hegias: **They… They can really be…?

**Chris: **No matter what, we need to take care of this… We can ask questions later.

_If You initiate combat against Glendon, this dialogue plays out._

**Glendon: **Unio… I know a thing or two about Unio… You’re a special one, aren’t you? I remember when that Crest was first given… But no matter. Goodbye.

_If Chris initiates combat against Glendon, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **Who are you? What are you doing here at the monastery?

**Glendon: **We needed that girl… Seeing a bearer of Lamine is so rare these days. Experiments needed to be done.

**Chris: **So she…?

**Glendon: **Has the Crest of Lamine? Yes. And he knew about it.

**Chris: **I still don’t understand who you are.

**Glendon: **Don’t the black robes tell you all you need to know?

**Chris: **Malice.

**Glendon: **So you aren’t as stupid as your father. Good to know.

**Chris: **You—

**Glendon: **Quiet already. Let’s finish this.

_If Hegias initiates combat against Glendon, this dialogue plays out._

**Glendon: **Don’t you look odd…? I can sense the Crest of Ernest inside of you.

**Hegias: **What of it?

**Glendon: **The bearer of the Crest of Ernest disappeared many years ago… In fact, he went to Brigid nearly two hundred years ago.

**Hegias: **But…

**Glendon: **You’re not from Brigid, are you?

**Hegias: **…

**Glendon: **Perhaps things aren’t as you always thought they were, kid… In fact, you should be aware of that already.

**Hegias: **How…?

**Glendon: **My teacher is your teacher… Though we learned different things.

**Hegias: **What are you talking about?

**Glendon: **I think you know exactly what I mean… You just don’t want to believe it.

**Hegias: **…

**Glendon: **That’s enough talk. Let’s just go on and get this over with.

_When Glendon is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Glendon: **Pathetic children…

_After the battle, each of the Black Eagles stands in front of Glendon’s dead body. All of the mages were killed in the battle due to this being a rout mission._

**Chris: **We’re finally finished here… Florence and Professor Wessin appear to be safe as well.

**Polly: **There’s paper everywhere… We need somebody to take them up to the infirmary as soon as possible. Any volunteers?

**Zelhira: **I’ll take Florence.

**Aquillus: **I’ll take care of Professor Wessin.

_Zelhira and Aquillus leave with Florence and Herwig._

**Cordelia: **Let’s look at these papers… Wait. This one has steps to… Giving somebody a Crest?!

**Hegias: **So, it is true… Crests can be given.

**Polly: **All of these Crests… They must be artificial… But they behaved just like Crests passed on by birth.

**Tuncay: **Must be a complicated process…

**Cordelia: **This document calls it a blood reconstruction surgery… But what could they want with Florence or Herwig?

**Chris: **This page has some documentation on Florence… It says that she has the Crest of Lamine.

**Polly: **Naturally or artificially?

**Chris: **If I’m reading this right, she always had it… And Professor Wessin knew about it.

**Hegias: **They took her to experiment with her Crest…

**Callisto: **And Professor Wessin was wrapped up in it because he knew the truth.

**Polly: **She never mentioned having a Crest before.

**Chris: **The Crest of Lamine activates when using healing magic. Florence primarily fights with lances.

**Hegias: **So, it was able to fly under the radar without anybody noticing.

**Tuncay: **Even if it did trigger out of nowhere, then she probably wouldn’t want to tell anybody. Crests put people at risk.

**Seraphine: **Sounds to me like we know what the archbishop was talking about… Herwig brought her to the school because he could tell that she had a Crest. A commoner having a Crest is odd. He wanted to be around her more to confirm his suspicions… But he didn’t want to get anybody’s hopes up in case he wound up being wrong.

**Callisto: **If I had to guess, I’d say that she didn’t know about it either…

**Chris: **There are lists of houses where each Crest appears commonly… The bloodlines where these are passed down… It’s all here.

**Polly: **Waste no time in reading it off then.

**Chris: **The Crest of Seiros matches with the Faixnoye line. Cichol goes to Riverbane and Doroftie. Cethleann is in Bazler, but it hasn’t appeared in many generations. Indech is in the Indech-Lavellan house of Adrestia and the Torryn house of Faerghus. Macuil is split between the Wessin and Einem houses of Adrestia.

**Hegias: **Cethleann is from Bazler… Isn’t that what Zelhira has…?

**Tuncay: **But she’s not related to him… She can’t be. No way.

**Chris: **The Josefa house holds the Blaiddyd Crest. Fraldarius is in House Berniere. Faren has Gautier. Lamine goes to the house of its same name in Faerghus. Dominic is shared between Houses Dragoste and Dominic, but both of them fell many years ago, meaning the Crest is mostly lost.

**Polly: **Derric has Dominic… He must be related to one of those houses somehow. And Kyle’s surname is…

**Chris: **Riegan is found in the Origo ruling line. The Crest of Noa is shared between House Aster and House Admoderor, which are in Faerghus and Leicester respectively. Daphnel is in Mikhailikov territory in Leicester, but it also appears in Schlarzer territory in Adrestia. Goneril lands are shared between Faerghus and Leicester. The Crest of Chevalier is shared between Houses Chevalier and Columbus, which are in Faerghus and Leicester respectively.

**Hegias: **There’s so many of them…

**Chris: **We’re almost done. Promise. Gloucester is in houses Ruden and Eir from Leicester. House Urswick has Maurice. The Crest of Charon is shared by Schweighen and Belmontai, from Faerghus and Leicester once again.

**Hegias: **What about the Crest of Ernest…?

**Chris: **The bearers of Ernest, Aubin, and Timotheos left the continent about two hundred years ago to travel to Brigid, Albinea, and Duscur respectively. Anybody who bears those Crests in modern day must be from those countries.

**Hegias: **…

**Polly: **Is that all?

**Tuncay: **What about the Crest of Flames or Unio?

**Polly: **Oh, here we go… The Crest of Flames has not appeared in many years. The only person to show signs of it was the previous emperor, Hugh von Faixnoye. He died less than two years after it manifested. Unio has only appeared once, and the sole person who has it disappeared years ago. Their current location is unknown.

**Hegias: **This is a lot of useful information…

**Polly: **A lot of that stuff, like what house has what Crest, is generally common knowledge, but I still think it’s important to keep in mind.

**Callisto: **How the hell did Florence get the Crest of Lamine then? She’s from Adrestia. Lamine is shown in one house, and that house is in Faerghus.

**Tuncay: **We’ll have to ask her and Professor Wessin when they wake up.

**Chris: **We should go and see them now.

**Cordelia: **I’m going to have the knights secure the area… I don’t know how Malice managed to make a hideout down here, underneath the damn monastery, but I’m going to find out.

**Chris: **If I had to wager a guess, I’d say they did it using whatever warping magic allowed them to get out of Professor Wessin’s room so soon.

**Polly: **They left the symbol for the Crest of Lamine as a way of telling us that Florence has it and Professor Wessin knew… I doubt it was a way of being nice about it though. They did it as a warning of something.

**Cordelia: **Luckily, it seems to me like we prevented whatever their plan was from being carried out.

**Tuncay: **We should get as many of these papers together as possible.

**Polly: **I agree… Just start grabbing them.

_Chris leans down and picks up a paper._

**Chris: **Wait… This is about my family!

**Hegias: **What?!

**Tuncay: **Chess, you can’t mean…

**Chris: **It’s got countless names on it, but… I don’t recognize any of them. They’re all relatively recent, too… All within the past thirty years… But then they randomly cut off twelve years ago.

**Polly: **How odd… This has to mean something.

**Chris: **But… I’m an only child. I never grew up with any siblings, and my father doesn’t have any brothers or sisters. But if that’s all true then… Where did all of these people come from?

**Callisto: **I wish I could tell you…

_Hegias reaches down and picks up a paper._

**Hegias: **Oh… Oh, gods…

**Tuncay: **Hedges? You good?

**Hegias: **I… I’m fine. I’ll see you all later…

_Hegias leaves the room._

**Callisto: **I’m going to make sure he’s okay.

**Cordelia: **Don’t. He needs some time alone. Besides, we need to go and make sure that your classmate and teacher are alright.

**Chris: **You’re right… Let’s go.

**Cordelia: **I’m going to get some knights, and we’re going to clean this place out. If there’s any remaining evidence, then we’ll find it for sure.

_The students all start to leave, and You follow them._

**Seraphine: **We’ve learned a lot here today… But we can’t think on it for too long. We need to make sure that Florence and Herwig are okay before doing anything else.

_You nod your agreement and leave behind the underground passage to go and visit the infirmary. When You arrive, Jill and Reese are standing next to Florence and Herwig. The rest of the Black Eagles are in the room as well, but Hegias is still absent._

**Jill: **Professor… Glad to see you made it safe.

**Reese: **Thanks to the students bringing them here, we got our examination done quickly… They’re going to be fine.

**Jill: **I’m sure you remember the knockout gas from that mission a few months ago. It was from the quest to Aster territory. Some variation of that was used here, but it was an injection instead. 

**Reese: **It doesn’t do any significant harm aside from triggering unconsciousness. They should be awake soon.

**Jill: **What did you find out?

_You tell them that there are many papers down in the hideout that speak of human experimentation._

**Jill: **Human experimentation… And those mages were doing it?

**Reese: **With how much it seems you found, it sounds to me like this was going on for quite a while.

**Jill: **I don’t know how Malice got down there, but they’re not going to be getting away with it.

**Florence: **Ugh…

**Reese: **Ah! She’s coming to!

**Florence: **What’s going on…?

**Jill: **How do you feel?

**Florence: **My head hurts…

**Jill: **But otherwise?

**Florence: **I’m fine…

**Herwig: **Ah…

**Reese: **There we go… Sit up, Professor. Tell us what you saw.

**Florence: **We’re back in the monastery…?

**Herwig: **It appears so…

**Chris: **I’m so glad to see you’re both okay…

**Polly: **You were down there for quite some time…

**Aquillus: **You really had us worried for a minute there.

**Zelhira: **Don’t bombard them. Please, start from the beginning.

**Tuncay: **What did those weird mages do to you?

**Florence: **Um… I don’t know where to start…

**Callisto: **The beginning, maybe?

**Herwig: **It… It was all after the last mission to Bazler territory. Florence needed some time to herself, but I was starting to get worried about her, so I went into her room to check up on her.

**Florence: **While he was there, we started talking, and… We got onto the topic of Crests soon enough.

**Herwig: **And I… I shared a few suspicions of mine.

**Polly: **The Crest of Lamine, right?

**Herwig: **How did you—

**Polly: **The symbol was found on parchment in both your rooms after you were taken.

**Herwig: **I see… Well, you are correct. I could sense something strange about Florence, and I invited her to the Academy. I suspected that she had a Crest, and I realized what Crest it was soon after.

**Florence: **That’s when we were taken… The mages experimented on us all month. I had to activate my Crest over and over for them to research it… Same with Professor Wessin.

**Herwig: **Luckily, it seems that you all were able to save us before things could go wrong further.

**Chris: **I’m just happy to see you’re safe…

**Herwig: **Still, I don’t understand how the Crest of Lamine could have wound up in Florence… I’ve been doing some research, and I have a theory, but there’s no concrete evidence for it now.

**Polly: **Then what is that theory?

**Herwig: **Many years ago, a few children were born in the Crest of Lamine. Only one of them had a Crest, and the others all ran away. I suspect that one such child was Florence’s mother, and even if she didn’t manifest a Crest, her daughter did.

**Florence: **That makes sense…

**Reese: **I’m glad you’re doing better now.

**Jill: **Since you’re awake, we’ll do one last examination to make sure that you’re alright to get up and move around.

**Reese: **In the meantime, Professor, you should go and report everything that happened to the archbishop.

**Jill: **As for the rest of you, go back to your homeroom. We can’t work when there’s this many people in here.

**Chris: **Alright… Good luck, everyone.

_The Black Eagles leave the room._

**Reese: **We’ll talk to you later, Professor.

**Jill: **Good luck.

_You walk out of the room. Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **I wonder what’s up with Hegias… He’s still not here. He wasn’t in that room to begin with… Maybe we should go and see him a bit later.

_You nod your agreement as You arrive outside Aisa’s room. You knock and enter. Inside, You see Aisa and Roy standing together._

**Aisa: **Professor… I heard your mission was a success.

**Roy: **The knights are investigating the underground passage as we speak.

**Aisa: **So many twisted people used Crests to their advantage in such a way… It truly is sickening.

**Roy: **Professor, I’m relieved to see that you have rescued Florence and Herwig.

**Aisa: **Cordelia already told us the information you found in their files…

**Roy: **Herwig brought Florence here since he realized she had the Crest of Lamine. Those were his suspicions from all that time ago.

**Aisa: **And it got them into so much trouble… At least they have been taken care of.

**Roy: **The Malice mages from beneath the monastery are all gone now. We’ll be looking into everything they left behind to see if we can find anything that will aid us in the future.

**Aisa: **You have learned much today. I appreciate all that you have done to rescue both Florence and Herwig.

**Roy: **If all goes well, they will be returned to full health sooner rather than later. Jill is a potent medic, and Reese knows what he’s doing when it comes to patching up injuries.

**Aisa: **You were there when the research was gone over, meaning that you do not need to hear it again. You heard of what Crest belongs to each house. While this was assumed to be common knowledge, it is still an important thing to keep in mind.

**Roy: **This year, we have something special as well…

**Aisa: **After all, the Crests of Ernest, Aubin, and Timotheos have returned from lands beyond the border…

**Roy: **The Crest of Ernest… How curious.

**Aisa: **You are dismissed, Professor.

_You nod and walk away as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Well, we should head back to the classroom… The other students will want to see us. Maybe Florence and Herwig are feeling well enough to join us.

_You make your way to the classroom. When You arrive, You see Herwig and the Black Eagles inside. Florence is among them. However, Hegias is still absent._

**Herwig: **Well… That brings us to the end of the month.

**Callisto: **Are you sure you should be up and moving about?

**Florence: **Professor Tysera said we were clear to at least drop in and say farewell to the professor for the month.

**Tuncay: **Well, we should probably wrap this up as soon as possible then. We don’t want you getting sick or anything.

**Aquillus: **I agree. The knights will be investigating the underground for quite a while longer.

**Zelhira: **Once they find something, I’m sure that we students will be the first to know.

**Polly: **I’m happy Captain Torryn came down with us to check the place out after we had to leave.

**Chris: **I’m not going to lie… I’m worried about Hegias. He ran off after finding something in one of those papers, and nobody has seen him since.

_You tell her that You will go and make sure that he is alright._

**Chris: **Thank you, Professor.

**Herwig: **I’m going to hit the hay. It’ll be nice to actually have a bed for the first time in a month.

**Florence: **Security is going to be heightened to make sure that this doesn’t happen again… The knights won’t be letting this slip.

**Tuncay: **I’ll help you back to your room, Professor. I don’t want you passing out on us.

**Callisto: **And I’ll take you back, Florence.

**Florence: **Thank you, Callisto.

**Aquillus: **Try to get some sleep tonight, alright? Next month isn’t going to wait for us.

**Zelhira: **Aquillus is right… Goodnight, everyone.

**Polly: **See you later.

**Chris: **I… I’m going to go and check on Hegias. I don’t want him to suffer alone if he saw something he shouldn’t have.

**Polly: **No. You’re exhausted. Go sleep.

**Chris: **But—

**Polly: **If I have to drag you back to your room, I will. Hegias will be fine.

**Chris: **Alright… Good luck, Professor.

_You watch as everyone leaves._

**Seraphine: **Well, let’s go check on him… I hope nothing bad happened.

_You go to Hegias’ dorm and knock on the door gently._

**Hegias: **Who is it?

_You tell him it’s You._

**Hegias: **Oh… Hello, Professor.

_You ask if he’s okay._

**Hegias: **I-I’m fine… I don’t really want to talk about it right now. When I’m ready to open up though… I’ll come to you first. It’s nothing.

**Seraphine: **It sure doesn’t sound like nothing…

_You ask him if he’s sure._

**Hegias: **I’m positive. I’ll be fine. I’ll talk to you later, okay?

_Realizing that You won’t be able to get him to talk about it, You tell him to have a nice night._

**Hegias: **Yes… Goodnight, Professor.

_You head back to your room and sit down on your bed._

**Seraphine: **That was a mess and a half… I’m sick of all this. Can’t we just have one month that isn’t a mess?

_You shrug to yourself and lay down._

**Seraphine: **Either way, I’m exhausted… Goodnight.

_Seraphine falls asleep soon after, but You find that You are struggling to sleep. You cannot help but worry about the information found under the monastery. The Bazler and Dragoste houses cross your mind at one point. Soon after, You think about the mysterious Crest of Ernest that seemed to upset Hegias so much. You hope Hegias gets to feeling better sooner rather than later. With a million thoughts spinning in your head, You fall into a restless sleep. Despite the mages being out of the picture, You cannot help but think that this isn’t the end. Something larger than a single group is going on here, and You do not like it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I feel very screamy
> 
> -Digital


	31. Chapter Five: Beneath the Surface I (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You look around the monastery after learning Florence has gone missing.

_You wake up on the first Sunday of the next month, the Verdant Moon. When You look around, Seraphine appears immediately._

**Seraphine: **I have a bad feeling about today… I can’t really put a finger on it.

_You nod your agreement. Something is going on, but You are not sure what it is. Despite this, You get to your feet and walk to see Aisa. Seraphine follows You silently, looking around to see if she can determine what is bothering her so much._

_When You arrive in Aisa’s room, You see Aisa and Roy standing together with a frown._

**Aisa: **Professor, I’m afraid I come with bad news.

**Seraphine: **Gods above… Please don’t tell me anybody died.

**Roy: **One of our students has gone missing…

**Seraphine: **What?!

**Aisa: **I’m afraid that Florence of the Black Eagle House has disappeared… It has been a few days since we’ve seen her, and there aren’t any traces of her around the monastery.

**Seraphine: **Well, that explains why we were feeling weird… But who could have taken her? Who would want to take her?

**Roy: **We’ve searched the monastery top to bottom but have ultimately come up short. I’m sorry to say this, but we aren’t sure what happened.

**Aisa: **Originally, we were going to have your class investigate the full truth behind a Leicester lord’s involvement with Lord Bazler, but… That is going to have to be put on hold until we find out where Florence has gone to.

**Roy: **Even so, we will try to go on with life as normally as possible. You will still pick a house and teach those students in the coming weeks. This whole month, you will be searching for Florence on the side.

**Aisa: **I’m truly sorry you had to find out this way, Professor.

**Seraphine: **How could they just lose a student? If she was running away, wouldn’t you expect her to show more signs of upset? No… I don’t think she ran away. If you want my opinion, somebody took her. She always seemed happy here. Why would she run off if she was happy?

_You can’t help but agree with her. You are sure Florence was kidnapped. You propose this to Aisa and Roy._

**Roy: **We believe she was kidnapped as well… Of course, we don’t truly have any evidence on the matter right now, but it seems odd that she’d just go missing all of a sudden.

**Aisa: **I’ve been trying to find Herwig to tell him that something is amiss, but I have been unable to contact him. I fear something has happened to him as well.

**Seraphine: **Teacher and student? How strange… Is there anything that could further connect the two?

_You ask if Herwig and Florence are connected beyond merely being teacher and student._

**Aisa: **Herwig was the one who recruited Florence to the Academy to begin with. It’s rare for commoners to get into the Black Eagles, but he insisted that she was something special. I can’t say what his reasoning was.

**Roy: **He claimed she was interesting in some way he couldn’t really explain to us until he was sure. He refused to share even his suspicions.

**Seraphine: **If Florence was the target of these mysterious kidnappers, maybe they took the professor because of their connection.

**Aisa: **We ask that you investigate both of their rooms to see if there are any signs of what happened.

**Roy: **Please report back to us after you’ve found something, assuming you do notice anything at the scene.

**Aisa: **For now though, you must select which house you wish to follow. Go on. Make your choice.

_You decide to follow the Blue Lions after putting in some thought._

**Roy: **You will be going with the Blue Lions?

_You confirm your choice._

**Aisa: **I am glad to hear that you are so sure of yourself… Now, go and visit the students of this house. I’m sure they’ll need your guidance in these trying times.

_You start your walk to the Blue Lions homeroom._

**Seraphine: **If you ask me, we should check for signs of a struggle in their rooms after seeing the students. If there’s nothing… Then I don’t know what we’ll do.

_You enter the homeroom to see the Blue Lions standing together._

**Magnolia: **Greetings, Professor… We appreciate your joining us.

**Falon: **Judging by that grim look on your face, you’ve already heard about Florence.

_You ask how it came out that Florence was missing._

**Karim: **After the last mission ended, a lot of people needed some time to think, so everyone just kind of left her alone.

**Cassia: **A lot of information came to light in Bazler territory, and we assumed that she merely needed some time alone…

**Aestlyn: **That applies to Professor Wessin too.

**Magnolia: **I know I needed some time to think myself.

**Kyle: **We didn’t start to get suspicious until yesterday.

**Illona: **Yuliya, one of the knights, could tell you more if you wanted to hear more.

**Nora: **Chris of the Black Eagles was with Yuliya last night. They were walking around the monastery and heard rattling from Professor Wessin’s room. There was somebody talking inside, but it sure as hell wasn’t him.

**Aestlyn: **They forced the door open and saw a mage with black robes. Said mage disappeared a few seconds later using magic.

**Kyle: **The mage left a parchment on the floor with the Crest of Lamine written on it. I’m sure you remember that from the start of the year.

**Cassia:** We don’t know what to do with this information, I’m afraid.

**Falon: **Chris and Yuliya woke up the rest of the Black Eagles, but they didn’t hear anything from her room. Since only the Eagles were woken up, we didn’t hear about it until this morning, but we got the details quickly. Information like this spreads like wildfire.

**Illona: **They got the door open soon after arriving outside her room.

**Nora: **Let’s just say that door is going to need a new lock…

**Aestlyn: **Her room was in the same state as Professor Wessin’s. There was nobody inside, but the Crest of Lamine was on a paper that sat on the floor.

**Seraphine: **All this talk about the Crest of Lamine all of a sudden… Nobody here at the monastery has it. What the hell could make it so important?

**Magnolia: **Do you know what our mission is for the month? Professor Schweighen hasn’t gotten the chance to come by and talk to us about it… He’s too busy looking around for Professor Wessin.

_You say that You will be searching for Florence and Herwig in the coming month._

**Nora: **Time for us to get to it then.

**Cassia: **We should tell each other as soon as possible if anything is found. We can’t afford to let any details slip through the cracks.

**Karim:** I’m going to start looking.

**Kyle: **Same here. Good luck.

**Aestlyn: **Here’s to hoping that they’re okay…

_The students all leave the classroom._

**Seraphine: **We should get to searching as well. We can’t let this go on for much longer. It only puts them at further risk, and they’re probably suffering enough as it is… Come on. Let’s do it.

_You leave the classroom to begin looking around the monastery. Once You enter the Officers Academy courtyard, You are met by Magnolia and Falon._

**Magnolia: **Florence really did go missing… And same with Professor Wessin… I can’t help but wonder what could have happened.

**Falon: **Me too… I mean, there must be a reason they were taken, but I don’t think I’ll ever understand it.

**Magnolia: **Ah, Professor! You’re looking around for Florence and Professor Wessin, right?

_You nod._

**Magnolia: **I should hope so, given that it’s our mission for the month.

**Falon: **Good luck… Not even the church officials could find anything. I don’t know about you, but that gives me a bad feeling…

_Also standing in the courtyard is Wolfgang, who is stroking Olive fondly._

**Wolfgang: **I’ve had Olive searching the school to see if anybody suspicious is around… She lost her mind last night, you know. She seemed to sense that something was wrong. If you ask me, that must have been the same time that Yuliya and Chris saw somebody messing around in Professor Wessin’s room… I don’t like this at all.

_You leave the courtyard to enter the Golden Deer homeroom. Lev stands inside._

**Lev: **What if something bad happened to them? I mean, it’s bad enough that they’ve already gone missing, but what if they’re dead? What if somebody killed them? Oh, gods above… I don’t pray particularly often, but I think I might pay the cathedral a visit to ask the goddess for their safety…

_You leave the Officers Academy behind to enter the training hall. Inside, there are two people, who You recognize as Cedric and Wynne. You approach Cedric first._

**Cedric: **I’ve looked all over the monastery for Florence and Professor Wessin, but I’ve come up short each time. I’ve had enough of just walking around mindlessly. I’m going to make sure I get strong enough to rescue them when we finally determine where they are… I refuse to think that we’ll be too late. It simply can’t be the case.

_You walk up to Wynne next._

**Wynne: **Hm… I feel really weird about all of this. I mean, I’ve been hearing bumps in the night for a while, but I didn’t ever expect it to go this far.

_You ask what he means._

**Wynne: **Just sounds… Mostly rustling at night. I thought it was the wind or something, but it was loud and coming from the garden each time. Why would it be so loud there? I mean, there might be more plants there, but there are plants everywhere… Oh, well. You can decide how to use that information.

_You walk away from the training hall to head in the direction of the nearby dorms. You see Hegias standing outside the dorms._

**Hegias: **I can’t help but wonder how the Crest of Lamine ties into all of this… Nobody at the monastery has the Crest of Lamine, so why would it be so involved? We have every other Crest here this year. Why focus on that one in particular? It seems odd… I wish I knew what made it so special all of a sudden.

_Further down the row, You run into Zelhira, who is standing outside Florence’s room._

**Zelhira: **There you are, Professor. Come in. Look for yourself.

_You look around the room and notice that it is a mess. Clothing is strewn everywhere, and the books have been thrown on the ground haphazardly. In the center of the ground is the symbol for the Crest of Lamine on a piece of parchment._

**Zelhira: **It doesn’t really look like a struggle… It seems more like somebody came in here looking for something and didn’t find it. As for what it could be, I’m afraid I don’t know. I’m going to stay here and make sure the scene isn’t disturbed. Come back whenever you’d like.

**Seraphine: **How strange… Who would want to snoop in Florence’s room? Why would they leave that paper on the floor like that? I don’t get it.

_You head up to the second floor of dorms. You see one person at the end of the row, and You realize it is Chris upon getting closer._

**Chris: **Everything that’s happened so far this year makes me feel sick… First, there was that Crest scholar incident. After that, we discovered an army planning to overthrow Faerghus. Then, we had to deal with Lord Bazler and my father. Now, we’ve got two people missing… I don’t know what to do. I hate it though… You already know everything that happened when I realized Florence was gone, so I won’t bore you with the details… Just… Help us find her, okay? I’m scared out of my mind.

_You head back downstairs and see Nora standing alone in the greenhouse._

**Nora: **If you ask me, Malice has something to do with this. I’m sure of it. Everything up to this point has involved Malice. Why would this be any different? I don’t know what the full truth is, but they have to be tied into this somehow… I just don’t know how…

_You leave the greenhouse to go to the fishing hole. The fishing hole has one person of note standing near it, and that person is Nesreen._

**Nesreen: **I haven’t found anything related to the disappearances of Herwig or Florence. I’ve searched the monastery top to bottom multiple times. I’ve asked surrounding towns if any people have seen anything. Nothing… If you ask me, whoever did this never left the monastery. They’re still here. No magic could teleport them that great a distance… Florence and Herwig are here.

_You leave the fishing hole and head to the stables, where You see Rodain._

**Rodain: **Hm… I wish I knew where those two got off to. Lady Aisa finally gave us knights a mission. We’re supposed to check the monastery and the surrounding towns on a daily basis. I’m heading out in a few hours to see what’s going on… I hope we can find something sooner rather than later.

_Also in the stables is Adrian, who You approach next._

**Adrian: **This disappearance incident is only worrying me further… You know, last year, Professor Wessin was my teacher too. To think that something bad could have happened to him… I hope they turn up soon. I don’t know what I’ll do if we lose him…

_You leave the stables to enter the knights’ hall. Cordelia and Kaeta stand together near a training dummy._

**Cordelia: **Kaeta, have you searched for Florence and Herwig yet today?

**Kaeta: **Yeah… I checked the garden, but something seemed off to me. Have there always been that many bushes in there?

**Cordelia: **Why wouldn’t there be bushes in the garden…?

**Kaeta: **I don’t know. Something about it just seemed weird. Maybe we should try and investigate it in the future.

**Cordelia: **Hm… I’ll have to keep it in mind.

_You head down to the marketplace next. Once there, You run into Tuncay._

**Tuncay: **You know, I sort of wonder when Flower was taken… I mean, a lot of people were upset enough to hide away in their rooms after that last mission. Even if a house didn’t go out for the mission, we had a lot of thinking to do. I mean, Chess didn’t get out until last night when we realized Flower was gone… What if she’s been gone for longer than we realize? I don’t like this one bit.

_You head into the entrance hall just north of the marketplace. Inside, there are a few clusters of people. You see Raithius and Novalee standing together._

**Raithius: **Lord Columbus is tied into everything that’s been happening… I don’t like that.

**Novalee: **I don’t either… He’s never been a kind man, and this… This only makes things worse.

**Raithius: **His connections to Bazler are concerning. If Canis is truly involved in all this--

**Novalee: **Ah, hello, Professor… Forgive us. Keep going on about your business.

**Seraphine: **I guess they’re talking about that Leicester lord… I guess they’d both know about him…

_Further into the reception hall is Illona._

**Illona: **The Crest of Lamine… There’s one house in Faerghus that has it. It’s really stingy with people who have Crests. Anybody with a Crest is trapped in that house forever. Those who don’t have Crests are tossed aside like trash… I wonder if that house is truly involved in what happened to Florence and Professor Wessin…

_Also inside the entrance hall is Karim, who You approach next._

**Karim: **I have a bad feeling about whatever happened to Florence… It can’t be good, whatever it is. She’s never shown signs of having a Crest before, so why would there suddenly be a symbol for the Crest of Lamine in her room? It doesn’t make sense… Plus, she’s from Adrestia, and Lamine is a Faerghus house. How weird.

_The final person in the entrance hall is Piers, and You walk up to him next._

**Piers: **I’ve checked all the surrounding towns already today. I’m utterly exhausted. I know everyone has good intentions in trying to find her, but I’m starting to wonder if she really wants to be found… Even if she does, we could be too late. Whatever happened, it’s bad, but I’m sure you already knew that.

_You walk into the reception hall next, and You run into Polly and Kyle soon after entering the room._

**Kyle: **Polly, I know that a lot has happened as of late… Perhaps we should try and unwind… We could try to take our minds off this.

**Polly: **I can’t just forget about this. It’s not an option for me at the moment. I need to find them.

**Kyle: **But you won’t be able to help anyone if you’re exhausted… Come on. Let’s go and try to calm down for a moment…

**Polly: **No… I need to make sure that they’re okay first… That’s my first priority.

**Kyle: **Polly…

_Sensing that they are discussing something serious, You walk away. Next, You run into Miriam, who is standing alone._

**Miriam: **You know, I checked for Florence’s mount. If she had really run away, she would have taken her pegasus with her… And yet, the pegasus is still here. If that’s not proof of suspicious actions, then I don’t know what is. I’m going to take care of the pegasus until Florence returns, but… I can tell she misses her rider already.

_The final person in the reception hall is Sofia, and You walk up to her._

**Sofia: **Florence… I always wanted to get to know her better, though I would be lying if I said I knew how to go about something like that. Now, there’s the chance that she’ll never come back again, and if she does, she’ll never be the same again… I don’t like that. Florence, please be okay… For all of our sakes.

_You head north further towards the cathedral. On the bridge there, You run into Callisto, who is staring over the edge silently._

**Callisto: **Florence… If I’m honest, she always made me feel a bit more normal around here. I mean, she’s one of the only other commoners at the school, and being in the same house made me even more comfortable. I hope that she’s alright… Please be alright…

_You fully enter the cathedral. Inside, You encounter Aquillus rather quickly._

**Aquillus: **I wish I could tell you that I had found something to show where Florence went… I’m afraid I don’t know what to do from here. Everybody I’ve asked says they know nothing, and I can tell they’re being honest… If you ask me, whoever did this isn’t involved with the monastery.

_The next people You encounter in the cathedral are Aestlyn and Cassia, who You approach._

**Aestlyn: **Everything has been moving so fast… I was under the impression that the Officers Academy was a way to hone one’s skills free of risk, but… It seems that was false.

**Cassia: **Something about this year is strange… There’s been many more fights than you’d expect, and they’re all so dangerous… I bet Florence got caught up in it as well.

**Aestlyn: **I would assume the same… I hope nothing else bad happens to the rest of us…

**Cassia: **I hope we’re alright too… After all, what good are we to Florence if we’re caught as well?

_You approach William next._

**William: **I’ve probably told you this before, but… I didn’t know I had a Crest until shortly before I came to the Officers Academy. I wonder if the same applies to Florence with the Crest of Lamine… Wouldn’t that be something else?

_The final person in the cathedral, Adeline, is standing nearby. You walk up to her._

**Adeline: **Columbus territory isn’t far from my home… I heard that Lord Columbus is involved from Raithius and Novalee. Columbus territory isn’t somewhere you want to be… That’s putting it nicely. After we leave the Academy, if you go off to find work… Stay far away from Columbus lands. It’s for your own safety.

_You leave the cathedral behind and walk upstairs. Once upstairs, You go to your first destination, which is the library. Inside, You encounter Niko and Derric._

**Derric: **I’ve been searching for any other references of Malice, but… I can’t find anything.

**Niko: **Me neither… It seems so odd. If they’ve truly been active for so long, why is there so little information?

**Derric: **The information that we do have doesn’t say anything about them taking people randomly…

**Niko: **Whatever this is, I don’t like it… Malice is planning something big, and Florence is just part of their scheme…

_You leave the library and head for the professor dorms. The only dorm that’s open is Herwig’s, and You see Yuliya inside it._

**Yuliya: **I’m sure you’ve already heard the full story about what happened… I was out on night watch, and that was when I heard sounds coming from the room. When the door was forced open, there were traces of magic in the air, and this paper was left behind… I wish I could tell you anything more, but I’m just as clueless as you are. It’s so odd…

_You make for the cardinals’ room, and inside, You see Reese and Jill talking._

**Reese: **Ah, Professor… We were just saying how good it is that we have you around right now. Allow us to catch you up.

**Jill: **While you’re with the Blue Lions, Reese will be looking over the Black Eagles for the month.

**Reese: **Don’t worry though. I’ll still return for the mission at the end of the month.

**Jill: **We have it all under control. No need to worry.

_You walk to the room where Aisa and Roy are located._

**Roy: **So, Professor… Have you looked around for any traces of Herwig or Florence?

_You nod and tell them what You have learned._

**Aisa: **So, the paper found in both their rooms only appeared after they went missing… I saw it earlier in the morning. It doesn’t look like a page from any book.

**Roy: **It’s acting as a calling card, in other words.

**Aisa: **I fear that may be the case…

**Roy: **And the garden… It appears that is a point of interest for us to investigate.

**Aisa: **I do not know what could be there… But we need to check it out.

_You nod your agreement._

**Aisa: **Thank you for the report, Professor. You may go.

_As You leave, Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **I’m wiped… Enough of the drama. Let’s hit the hay.

_You head to your room and sit on your bed._

**Seraphine: **Something happened to Florence and Herwig… It’s suspected that they were kidnapped… I don’t know what to do with that sort of information. I mean, it’s not like we can just go out and save them now, right? That’s out of the question… Gods above, this is frustrating… We’ll just have to keep looking tomorrow. For now, goodnight.

_You fall asleep soon after. Even in your dreams, You hope for a clue to come to You, but nothing does, leaving your sleep dull and upsetting as answers escape You for one night more..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for this being late I got busy oops
> 
> -Digital


	32. Chapter Five: Beneath the Surface II (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go with the Blue Lions and Cordelia to investigate Florence and Herwig's disappearances.

_At the end of the month, You stand in the Blue Lions homeroom with the class and Reese._

**Magnolia: **It’s time to find Florence. We’ve waited long enough.

**Falon: **I think a lot of people are sure right now that the garden is somehow involved in her disappearance.

**Karim: **There’s no reason to wait. Let’s go find her.

**Cassia: **I’m afraid we can’t jump in quite yet. It’s not only going to be our class taking on this mission.

**Reese: **I believe that our new companion will be here any moment now… Here’s to hoping she’ll be able to help us.

**Nora: **Who is it?

**Illona: **Look.

_Illona points to the door as it opens, Cordelia entering the room._

**Cordelia: **Well, let’s jump right into this. We’ve got some people to save.

**Aestlyn: **You’re the captain of the knights, aren’t you?

**Cordelia: **I am. Captain Torryn reporting for duty. The archbishop asked that I come with you on this mission to make sure nothing went horribly wrong. If there are no further objections, then we can get going now.

**Kyle: **It’s time to go then… No time to waste.

_You leave the classroom to head in the direction of the garden. Seraphine walks at your side._

**Seraphine: **If the garden is really the place where everything happened, then let’s hope nothing bad happens to us here… I don’t want to be the next victim of kidnapping.

_You stop in front of a large bush in the garden. Cordelia points to it and shakes her head._

**Cordelia: **Unnatural… Something is going on here. This doesn’t seem like it belongs. It’s so much bigger than everything else in the area, but they should be the same age and same size.

_Cordelia parts the greenery, and inside, You see a secret passage._

**Illona: **Is that a hallway?

**Kyle: **This is not what I expected to see…

**Cordelia: **I heard people saying that there was something wrong in the garden, but I didn’t expect this.

**Karim: **It’s time for us to jump in then. They could be in a lot of trouble right now, and we can’t let that continue.

**Cassia: **I feel the same.

_Cordelia starts into the passage._

**Cordelia: **It’s much larger than you’d expect… I mean, the opening is pretty small, but once you get down here, it’s huge… And it’s old, too.

**Falon: **Where could it have come from? And more importantly, how long has it been around?

**Aestlyn: **The monastery has been around for nearly a thousand years. Nobody alive now was there when it was constructed. All the secrets this building holds will take years to uncover… But I suppose we’ll have to be the first.

**Nora: **All we can do is jump in at this point.

**Magnolia: **It sounds to me like there’s enough room for us all to fit inside… No point in hanging back any longer.

**Reese: **Without further ado, let’s get in.

_The rest of the students and Reese go inside of the passage, and You take up the rear._

**Seraphine: **It might open up down here, but there’s no space for me to stand without getting walked through. I’m sick of this. See you around.

_Seraphine retreats in your mind._

**Cordelia: **Quiet, everyone… I hear noise.

_The students fall silent as the group stops. The passage has widened out to show a large room beneath the ground. On the floor just before the entrance are two figures._

**Cordelia: **That’s Florence and Herwig!

**Cassia: **It looks like they’re unconscious…

**Aestlyn: **They need medical attention now.

**Illona: **Hold on. There are other people down here.

_You follow Illona’s direction and see a cluster of mages wearing black robes scattered about the room. They all have distorted Crests sewn into their robes._

**Kyle: **It looks like Malice did this…

**Falon: **Look at Florence too… That doesn’t look natural.

_You focus your attention to Florence once more. A Crest has activated above her head despite her being unconscious, and it doesn’t take You long to recognize the symbol._

**Karim: **It’s the Crest of Lamine!

**Cordelia: **I’ve had enough of waiting around. We have to get in there.

_Cordelia enters the room fully._

**Cordelia: **Hey!

_The mages in the room all turn to face her. The leader steps forward. His name is Glendon._

**Glendon: **Damn it all!

**Magnolia: **What should we do about Florence and Professor Wessin, Captain Torryn?

**Cordelia: **There are too many of them for us to just send somebody off to have them healed. We’re short on troops as it is.

**Reese: **We’ll have to make a defensive front while still pressing on. If any mages hit them, we’re in trouble. They’re defenseless.

**Cordelia: **Exactly.

**Nora: **I don’t think they have any severe wounds… It’s just cuts and scrapes. We can leave it for now, but we can’t leave them for too long.

**Cassia: **We can’t put them in danger… Be careful, everyone.

**Illona: **P-Professor, are we ready?

_You nod._

**Reese: **Blue Lions! We fight!

_The battle begins. The Blue Lions fight violently against the mages, being careful to defend Florence and Herwig during the battle. However, things do not remain peaceful, and a Crest activates over one of the mages’ heads during the battle. Note: this particular mage is predetermined to activate the Crest of Dominic whenever fought for the first time. Rion’s Unio Crest is also guaranteed to trigger during this fight the first time they initiate combat. Every enemy on this battlefield has a randomly generated Crest, though Unio and the Crest of Flames are kept out of the rotation._

**Cordelia: **Wait… Did you see that?!

**Magnolia: **That was a Crest! It’s the same one painted on that mage’s robes too…

**Aestlyn: **This doesn’t seem real…

**Nora: **How did they get Crests so easily?

**Cassia: **Remember what Lord Bazler said last month.

**Karim: **It’s possible to give out and take away Crests.

**Kyle: **These Crests probably aren’t legitimate then…

**Illona: **No way…

**Falon: **Let’s save the questions for later. The battle is our focus now.

_If You initiate combat against Glendon, this dialogue plays out._

**Glendon: **Unio… I know a thing or two about Unio… You’re a special one, aren’t you? I remember when that Crest was first given… But no matter. Goodbye.

_If Magnolia initiates combat against Glendon, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia:** I want to know who you are and what you’re doing here.

**Glendon: **We needed that girl… Seeing a bearer of Lamine is so rare these days. Experiments needed to be done.

**Magnolia:** You mean that Florence…

**Glendon: **Has the Crest of Lamine? Yes. And he knew about it.

**Magnolia: **But who the hell are you? You never answered.

**Glendon: **Don’t the black robes tell you all you need to know?

**Magnolia: **Malice dastard…

**Glendon: **The same group that killed your father…

**Magnolia: **…

**Glendon: **Let’s finish this.

_If Illona initiates combat against Glendon, this dialogue plays out._

**Glendon: **Don’t you look familiar…? I can sense the Crest of Ernest inside of you.

**Illona: **What about it…?!

**Glendon: **You bear a striking resemblance to one of our own… One I know all too well.

**Illona: **Who…?

**Glendon: **You know what I mean.

**Illona: **…

**Glendon: **We were taught the same things by the same teacher all those years ago… The art of Crest experimentation…

**Illona: **You… Stop it…

**Glendon:** I know exactly what’s happened here… And so do you.

**Illona: **Shut up! Stop it!

**Glendon: **Denial won’t help you.

**Illona: **…

**Glendon: **That’s enough talking. Let’s just go on and get this over with.

_When Glendon is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Glendon: **Pathetic children…

_After the battle, each of the Blue Lions stands in front of Glendon’s dead body. All of the mages were killed in the battle due to this being a rout mission._

**Magnolia: **I’m glad both Florence and Professor Wessin are safe… I was really worried.

**Falon: **Look at all this paper… It’s everywhere. If you ask me, it must be evidence… But Florence and Professor Wessin should be our main priority.

**Reese: **I’ll take care of it. Nora, you’re with me. Karim, Kyle, you too.

**Nora: **Understood, Professor.

**Karim: **Good luck, everyone.

**Kyle: **We’ll make sure they’re alright.

_Reese, Nora, Karim, and Kyle leave with Florence and Herwig._

**Cordelia: **Let’s look at these papers… Wait. This one has steps to… Giving somebody a Crest?!

**Aestlyn: **It’s real then…

**Cassia: **Those Crests aren’t real then… Even if they behaved just like official Crests, none of them were real.

**Falon: **I bet it’s a complex process…

**Cordelia: **This document calls it a blood reconstruction surgery… But what could they want with Florence or Herwig?

**Magnolia: **Check out this page. It’s about Florence… She has the Crest of Lamine, according to this sheet…

**Aestlyn: **Was it natural? Or did they give it to her?

**Magnolia: **As far as I can tell, she was born with it, and Professor Wessin was aware…

**Illona: **This was to experiment with her Crest then…

**Falon: **Professor Wessin was dragged into it because he knew she had the Crest…

**Illona: **But she never mentioned having one…

**Cassia: **The Crest of Lamine is based around healing magic. Since Florence prefers to use lances in battle, it never showed.

**Magnolia: **It went unnoticed since she didn’t use healing powers.

**Falon: **If it ever activated, she would want to keep it secret to make sure that she didn’t put herself in danger.

**Seraphine: **Sounds to me like we know what the archbishop was talking about… Herwig brought her to the school because he could tell that she had a Crest. A commoner having a Crest is odd. He wanted to be around her more to confirm his suspicions… But he didn’t want to get anybody’s hopes up in case he wound up being wrong.

**Aestlyn: **I don’t think she knew about it…

**Magnolia: **It’s all here. These pages have named each house that holds each Crest… It says which bloodlines hold what Crests commonly.

**Falon: **Go on. This information could be important.

**Magnolia: **The Crest of Seiros is found in the Faixnoye ruling family in Adrestia. Cichol is in the Riverbane and Doroftie families. Cethleann can be found in House Bazler, but no Crest bearers have surfaced for generations. Indech is shared between the Indech Lavellan-Adrestia house and the Torryn Faerghus house. Macuil is in both the Wessin and Einem families from Adrestia.

**Aestlyn: **The Crest of Cethleann is from House Bazler…? But… Zelhira isn’t related to Lord Bazler…

**Illona: **She can’t be connected to him… I refuse to believe it.

**Magnolia: **My house, the Josefa ruling party in Faerghus, has Blaiddyd. Fraldarius is found in Berniere. House Faren has the Gautier Crest. Lamine’s Crest is found in the house of the same name in Faerghus. The Crest of Dominic is in two Faerghus houses: Dominic and Dragoste. However, they fell a long time ago and are nearly lost.

**Aestlyn: **Dragoste is Kyle’s surname… What if he’s connected to it somehow? And what about Derric? He’s got the Crest of Dominic.

**Magnolia: **The Origo family has the Crest of Riegan. Houses Aster and Admoderor, from Faerghus and Leicester respectively, have Noa. Daphnel is shared by Mikhailikov and Schlarzer from Leicester and Adrestia. The Crest of Chevalier is in Houses Chevalier and Columbus from Faerghus and Leicester.

**Illona: **There’s so many Crests…

**Magnolia: **We’re getting close to the end of the list now. Gloucester can be found in Ruden and Eir bloodlines from Leicester. Maurice is in House Urswick. Charon is shared by Schweighen and Belmontai from Faerghus and Leicester respectively.

**Illona:** What about my Crest?

**Magnolia: **The people who had the Crests of Ernest, Aubin, and Timotheos left our lands behind to move to Brigid, Albinea, and Duscur respectively. People who have those three Crests nowadays have to be from those nations.

**Illona: **Then Hegias…

**Falon:** Is that all of them?

**Aestlyn: **We haven’t heard about the professor’s Crests…

**Falon: **Ah, this page seems to have what we need! The Crest of Flames has been gone for quite some time. The previous emperor, Hugh von Faixnoye, had it in the two years before his death. Unio is in a similar situation. Its owner went missing about ten years ago and hasn’t been seen since.

**Aestlyn: **We sure have learned a lot today…

**Cassia: **Most of what we just heard, like what Crest can be found where, is known widespread for the most part. However, a refresher never hurts.

**Magnolia: **How could Florence have gotten the Crest of Lamine then? Lamine is in Faerghus, and she’s from Adrestia. She’s a Black Eagle, and it’s not like she transferred classes.

**Illona: **Perhaps Florence herself will have the answers we seek.

**Magnolia: **Speaking of, I think it’s time for us to go visit them.

**Cordelia: **I’m going to have the knights secure the area… I don’t know how Malice managed to make a hideout down here, underneath the damn monastery, but I’m going to find out.

**Magnolia: **If you ask me, they probably got this all to happen using warp magic. They used it to escape Professor Wessin’s room, and it could be used here.

**Aestlyn: **The symbol for the Crest of Lamine was left behind as their way of communicating that Florence has it and Professor Wessin was aware of such. While it did help us out, I feel like it was more of a warning than a friendly tip.

**Cordelia: **Luckily, it seems to me like we prevented whatever their plan was from being carried out.

**Cassia: **Let’s check out as many pages as we can.

**Falon: **Good plan.

_Magnolia leans down and picks up a paper._

**Magnolia: **This one is about the royal family of Adrestia.

**Aestlyn: **What’s on it?

**Cassia: **Perhaps the Faixnoye family is more involved in this than we originally anticipated…

**Magnolia: **There are too many names to count, but… I don’t think I’ve heard any of them before. They’re all recorded with dates in the past thirty years, but they end sometime twelve years ago.

**Falon: **What could it mean?

**Magnolia: **I wish I could tell you. The general public only heard about the single princess of the kingdom, so where did the rest of these royal children come from? Their ages are recorded, and they all seem on the younger side…

**Cassia:** I wish I had an answer for you…

_Illona reaches down and picks up a paper._

**Illona: **Looks like we’ve found the Hegias information…

**Cassia:** What about Hegias?

**Illona: **I… I have to go give him this. I’ll see you later.

_Illona leaves the room._

**Falon: **Illona! Wait up!

**Cordelia: **Don’t. She needs to do something important, and we should let her. Besides, we need to go and make sure that your classmate and teacher are alright.

**Magnolia: **I agree. They’ll want to see us.

**Cordelia: **I’m going to get some knights, and we’re going to clean this place out. If there’s any remaining evidence, then we’ll find it for sure.

_The students all start to leave, and You follow them._

**Seraphine: **We’ve learned a lot here today… But we can’t think on it for too long. We need to make sure that Florence and Herwig are okay before doing anything else.

_You nod your agreement and leave behind the underground passage to go and visit the infirmary. When You arrive, Jill and Reese are standing next to Florence and Herwig. The rest of the Blue Lions are in the room as well, but Illona is still absent._

**Jill: **Professor… Glad to see you made it safe.

**Reese: **Thanks to the students bringing them here, we got our examination done quickly… They’re going to be fine.

**Jill: **I’m sure you remember the knockout gas from that mission a few months ago. It was from the quest to Aster territory. Some variation of that was used here, but it was an injection instead. 

**Reese: **It doesn’t do any significant harm aside from triggering unconsciousness. They should be awake soon.

**Jill: **What did you find out?

_You tell them that there are many papers down in the hideout that speak of human experimentation._

**Jill: **Human experimentation… And those mages were doing it?

**Reese: **With how much it seems you found, it sounds to me like this was going on for quite a while.

**Jill: **I don’t know how Malice got down there, but they’re not going to be getting away with it.

**Florence: **Ugh…

**Reese: **Ah! She’s coming to!

**Florence: **What’s going on…?

**Jill: **How do you feel?

**Florence: **My head hurts…

**Jill: **But otherwise?

**Florence: **I’m fine…

**Herwig: **Ah…

**Reese: **There we go… Sit up, Professor. Tell us what you saw.

**Florence: **We’re back in the monastery…?

**Herwig: **It appears so…

**Magnolia: **I can’t even begin to say how relieved I am.

**Falon: **You were down there for a month, but you’re still okay…

**Kyle: **We were really worried, you know.

**Cassia: **Try not to overwhelm them. They’ve gone through enough as it is.

**Nora: **Start from the beginning, you two.

**Florence: **Um… I don’t know where to start…

**Karim: **What about when you were taken?

**Herwig: **It… It was all after the last mission to Bazler territory. Florence needed some time to herself, but I was starting to get worried about her, so I went into her room to check up on her.

**Florence: **While he was there, we started talking, and… We got onto the topic of Crests soon enough.

**Herwig: **And I… I shared a few suspicions of mine.

**Magnolia: **You mean the Crest of Lamine.

**Herwig: **How did you—

**Magnolia: **The symbol was inscribed into parchment left in your rooms once you went missing.

**Herwig: **I see… Well, you are correct. I could sense something strange about Florence, and I invited her to the Academy. I suspected that she had a Crest, and I realized what Crest it was soon after.

**Florence: **That’s when we were taken… The mages experimented on us all month. I had to activate my Crest over and over for them to research it… Same with Professor Wessin.

**Herwig: **Luckily, it seems that you all were able to save us before things could go wrong further.

**Falon: **We’re just happy you’re alright.

**Herwig: **Still, I don’t understand how the Crest of Lamine could have wound up in Florence… I’ve been doing some research, and I have a theory, but there’s no concrete evidence for it now.

**Cassia: **Feel free to share the theory, Professor.

**Herwig: **Many years ago, a few children were born in the Crest of Lamine. Only one of them had a Crest, and the others all ran away. I suspect that one such child was Florence’s mother, and even if she didn’t manifest a Crest, her daughter did.

**Florence: **That makes sense…

**Reese: **I’m glad you’re doing better now.

**Jill: **Since you’re awake, we’ll do one last examination to make sure that you’re alright to get up and move around.

**Reese: **In the meantime, Professor, you should go and report everything that happened to the archbishop.

**Jill: **As for the rest of you, go back to your homeroom. We can’t work when there’s this many people in here.

**Magnolia: **We wish you good luck.

_The Blue Lions leave the room._

**Reese: **We’ll talk to you later, Professor.

**Jill: **Good luck.

_You walk out of the room. Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **I wonder what’s up with Illona… She’s still not here. She wasn’t in that room to begin with… Maybe we should go and see her a bit later.

_You nod your agreement as You arrive outside Aisa’s room. You knock and enter. Inside, You see Aisa and Roy standing together._

**Aisa: **Professor… I heard your mission was a success.

**Roy: **The knights are investigating the underground passage as we speak.

**Aisa: **So many twisted people used Crests to their advantage in such a way… It truly is sickening.

**Roy: **Professor, I’m relieved to see that you have rescued Florence and Herwig.

**Aisa: **Cordelia already told us the information you found in their files…

**Roy: **Herwig brought Florence here since he realized she had the Crest of Lamine. Those were his suspicions from all that time ago.

**Aisa: **And it got them into so much trouble… At least they have been taken care of.

**Roy: **The Malice mages from beneath the monastery are all gone now. We’ll be looking into everything they left behind to see if we can find anything that will aid us in the future.

**Aisa: **You have learned much today. I appreciate all that you have done to rescue both Florence and Herwig.

**Roy: **If all goes well, they will be returned to full health sooner rather than later. Jill is a potent medic, and Reese knows what he’s doing when it comes to patching up injuries.

**Aisa: **You were there when the research was gone over, meaning that you do not need to hear it again. You heard of what Crest belongs to each house. While this was assumed to be common knowledge, it is still an important thing to keep in mind.

**Roy: **This year, we have something special as well…

**Aisa: **After all, the Crests of Ernest, Aubin, and Timotheos have returned from lands beyond the border…

**Roy: **The Crest of Ernest… How curious.

**Aisa: **You are dismissed, Professor.

_You nod and walk away as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Well, we should head back to the classroom… The other students will want to see us. Maybe Florence and Herwig are feeling well enough to join us.

_You make your way to the classroom. When You arrive, You see Reese and the Blue Lions inside. However, Illona is still absent._

**Reese: **And with that, the month is over.

**Kyle: **Are Professor Wessin and Florence doing better?

**Reese: **Professor Tysera gave them the clear to leave, and since they were free to go, I was as well.

**Karim: **Can we take care of this as quickly as we can? I want to go to bed. This is all just plain exhausting.

**Cassia:** The knights can handle the investigation for us.

**Aestlyn: **I’m sure they’ll tell us as soon as something is found.

**Falon: **Captain Torryn has this all under control. That much I’m sure of.

**Magnolia: **I’m worried about Illona. She seemed to be rather upset about something… Or determined… I couldn’t tell. She’s a strange character, to say the least.

_You tell her that You will go and make sure that she is alright._

**Magnolia: **I appreciate that, Professor.

**Nora: **I’m off to bed. I’ve had enough activity for one day… Or for a lifetime.

**Aeslyn: **I’m sure there will be more security around the monastery so this doesn’t happen a second time. The knights won’t let this just happen.

**Kyle: **Have a nice night, everyone… See you around.

**Karim: **Don’t worry about Florence and Professor Wessin. Professor Tysera said they’ll be fine, and she’s never wrong on that stuff.

**Nora: **Here’s to hoping this doesn’t happen again… Night.

_You watch as everyone leaves._

**Seraphine: **Well, let’s go check on Illona… I hope nothing bad happened.

_You go to Illona’s dorm and knock on the door gently._

**Illona: **Um… Who is it?

_You tell her it’s You._

**Illona: **Oh… Hello, Professor.

_She opens the door. You ask if she’s okay._

**Illona: **I’m alright… I just had to give something to Hegias. Now that I’m done, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.

**Seraphine: **I wonder what she could have needed him to know so desperately…

_You ask her if she’s sure._

**Illona: **Positive! Goodnight!

_Realizing that You won’t be able to get her to talk about it, You tell her to have a nice night._

**Illona:** Bye!

_She closes the door. After watching it shut, You head back to your room and sit down on your bed._

**Seraphine: **That was a mess and a half… I’m sick of all this. Can’t we just have one month that isn’t a mess?

_You shrug to yourself and lay down._

**Seraphine: **Either way, I’m exhausted… Goodnight.

_Seraphine falls asleep soon after, but You find that You are struggling to sleep. You cannot help but worry about the information found under the monastery. The Bazler and Dragoste houses cross your mind at one point. Soon after, You think about the mysterious Crest of Ernest that seemed to bother Illona so much. You hope Illona decides to open up about it sooner rather than later. With a million thoughts spinning in your head, You fall into a restless sleep. Despite the mages being out of the picture, You cannot help but think that this isn’t the end. Something larger than a single group is going on here, and You do not like it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow battles are fun
> 
> -Digital


	33. Chapter Five: Beneath the Surface I (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You look around the monastery after learning Florence has gone missing.

_You wake up on the first Sunday of the next month, the Verdant Moon. When You look around, Seraphine appears immediately._

**Seraphine: **I have a bad feeling about today… I can’t really put a finger on it.

_You nod your agreement. Something is going on, but You are not sure what it is. Despite this, You get to your feet and walk to see Aisa. Seraphine follows You silently, looking around to see if she can determine what is bothering her so much._

_When You arrive in Aisa’s room, You see Aisa and Roy standing together with a frown._

**Aisa: **Professor, I’m afraid I come with bad news.

**Seraphine: **Gods above… Please don’t tell me anybody died.

**Roy: **One of our students has gone missing…

**Seraphine: **What?!

**Aisa: **I’m afraid that Florence of the Black Eagle House has disappeared… It has been a few days since we’ve seen her, and there aren’t any traces of her around the monastery.

**Seraphine: **Well, that explains why we were feeling weird… But who could have taken her? Who would want to take her?

**Roy: **We’ve searched the monastery top to bottom but have ultimately come up short. I’m sorry to say this, but we aren’t sure what happened.

**Aisa: **Originally, we were going to have your class investigate the full truth behind a Leicester lord’s involvement with Lord Bazler, but… That is going to have to be put on hold until we find out where Florence has gone to.

**Roy: **Even so, we will try to go on with life as normally as possible. You will still pick a house and teach those students in the coming weeks. This whole month, you will be searching for Florence on the side.

**Aisa: **I’m truly sorry you had to find out this way, Professor.

**Seraphine: **How could they just lose a student? If she was running away, wouldn’t you expect her to show more signs of upset? No… I don’t think she ran away. If you want my opinion, somebody took her. She always seemed happy here. Why would she run off if she was happy?

_You can’t help but agree with her. You are sure Florence was kidnapped. You propose this to Aisa and Roy._

**Roy: **We believe she was kidnapped as well… Of course, we don’t truly have any evidence on the matter right now, but it seems odd that she’d just go missing all of a sudden.

**Aisa: **I’ve been trying to find Herwig to tell him that something is amiss, but I have been unable to contact him. I fear something has happened to him as well.

**Seraphine: **Teacher and student? How strange… Is there anything that could further connect the two?

_You ask if Herwig and Florence are connected beyond merely being teacher and student._

**Aisa: **Herwig was the one who recruited Florence to the Academy to begin with. It’s rare for commoners to get into the Black Eagles, but he insisted that she was something special. I can’t say what his reasoning was.

**Roy: **He claimed she was interesting in some way he couldn’t really explain to us until he was sure. He refused to share even his suspicions.

**Seraphine: **If Florence was the target of these mysterious kidnappers, maybe they took the professor because of their connection.

**Aisa: **We ask that you investigate both of their rooms to see if there are any signs of what happened.

**Roy: **Please report back to us after you’ve found something, assuming you do notice anything at the scene.

**Aisa: **For now though, you must select which house you wish to follow. Go on. Make your choice.

_You decide to follow the Golden Deer after putting in some thought._

**Roy: **You will be going with the Golden Deer?

_You confirm your choice._

**Aisa: **I am glad to hear that you are so sure of yourself… Now, go and visit the students of this house. I’m sure they’ll need your guidance in these trying times.

_You start your walk to the Golden Deer homeroom._

**Seraphine: **If you ask me, we should check for signs of a struggle in their rooms after seeing the students. If there’s nothing… Then I don’t know what we’ll do.

_You enter the homeroom to see the Golden Deer standing together._

**Raithius: **Nice to see you, Teach. I guess you’ve chosen us this time.

**Novalee: **Judging by the grim look on your face, you know about Florence’s disappearance.

_You ask how it came out that Florence was missing._

**Adeline: **The last mission was rather intense, and we all figured that she wanted some alone time to think things over.

**William: **Everything we learned in Bazler territory was rather intense, and if she needed some time to think, we would provide it.

**Cedric: **The same applies to Professor Wessin, you must note.

**Raithius: **I can tell you for sure that I needed a minute to think things over.

**Sofia: **We thought it was normal until yesterday.

**Wolfgang: **You should ask Yuliya, a knight here, if you want more information.

**Lev: **Chris was with Yuliya last night. They were talking and exploring the monastery when they heard noise from Professor Wessin’s room. They could hear a voice inside too, but they didn’t think it was him.

**Wolfgang: **They forced the door open and managed to see a mage with black robes. The mage went missing soon after using magic.

**Cedric: **When they disappeared, the mage dropped a parchment with the Crest of Lamine drawn on its surface.

**William:** We aren’t sure what to do about this though.

**Novalee: **Chris and Yuliya woke the Black Eagles and investigated her room, but they didn’t hear anything. Because only that house was woken up, we didn’t know what happened until this morning. The rumors spread fast.

**Lev: **They forced the door open again this time.

**Sofia: **That door is going to need a new lock… Or maybe just a new door.

**Adeline: **The inside of her room looked the same as Professor Wessin’s when they got inside. It was mostly empty aside from a paper with the Crest of Lamine sketched on its surface.

**Seraphine: **All this talk about the Crest of Lamine all of a sudden… Nobody here at the monastery has it. What the hell could make it so important?

**Raithius: **You’ve heard about what our mission is, right? Professor Tysera hasn’t told us about it. She’s looking around for Professor Wessin right now, and that’s taking up quite a bit of her time, to say the least.

_You say that You will be searching for Florence and Herwig in the coming month._

**Lev: **I guess we should do it then.

**Adeline: **If we find anything, we should tell the others. The situation is desperate, and we can’t let anything pass us by.

**Sofia:** I’m off to look around for them.

**Wolfgang: **Me too.

**Cedric: **Please be okay, everyone…

_The students all leave the classroom._

**Seraphine: **We should get to searching as well. We can’t let this go on for much longer. It only puts them at further risk, and they’re probably suffering enough as it is… Come on. Let’s do it.

_You leave the classroom to begin looking around the monastery. Once You enter the Officers Academy courtyard, You are met by Magnolia and Falon._

**Magnolia: **Florence really did go missing… And same with Professor Wessin… I can’t help but wonder what could have happened.

**Falon: **Me too… I mean, there must be a reason they were taken, but I don’t think I’ll ever understand it.

**Magnolia: **Ah, Professor! You’re looking around for Florence and Professor Wessin, right?

_You nod._

**Magnolia: **I should hope so, given that it’s our mission for the month.

**Falon: **Good luck… Not even the church officials could find anything. I don’t know about you, but that gives me a bad feeling…

_Also standing in the courtyard is Wolfgang, who is stroking Olive fondly._

**Wolfgang: **I’ve had Olive searching the school to see if anybody suspicious is around… She lost her mind last night, you know. She seemed to sense that something was wrong. If you ask me, that must have been the same time that Yuliya and Chris saw somebody messing around in Professor Wessin’s room… I don’t like this at all.

_You leave the courtyard to enter the Golden Deer homeroom. Lev stands inside._

**Lev: **What if something bad happened to them? I mean, it’s bad enough that they’ve already gone missing, but what if they’re dead? What if somebody killed them? Oh, gods above… I don’t pray particularly often, but I think I might pay the cathedral a visit to ask the goddess for their safety…

_You leave the Officers Academy behind to enter the training hall. Inside, there are two people, who You recognize as Cedric and Wynne. You approach Cedric first._

**Cedric: **I’ve looked all over the monastery for Florence and Professor Wessin, but I’ve come up short each time. I’ve had enough of just walking around mindlessly. I’m going to make sure I get strong enough to rescue them when we finally determine where they are… I refuse to think that we’ll be too late. It simply can’t be the case.

_You walk up to Wynne next._

**Wynne: **Hm… I feel really weird about all of this. I mean, I’ve been hearing bumps in the night for a while, but I didn’t ever expect it to go this far.

_You ask what he means._

**Wynne: **Just sounds… Mostly rustling at night. I thought it was the wind or something, but it was loud and coming from the garden each time. Why would it be so loud there? I mean, there might be more plants there, but there are plants everywhere… Oh, well. You can decide how to use that information.

_You walk away from the training hall to head in the direction of the nearby dorms. You see Hegias standing outside the dorms._

**Hegias: **I can’t help but wonder how the Crest of Lamine ties into all of this… Nobody at the monastery has the Crest of Lamine, so why would it be so involved? We have every other Crest here this year. Why focus on that one in particular? It seems odd… I wish I knew what made it so special all of a sudden.

_Further down the row, You run into Zelhira, who is standing outside Florence’s room._

**Zelhira: **There you are, Professor. Come in. Look for yourself.

_You look around the room and notice that it is a mess. Clothing is strewn everywhere, and the books have been thrown on the ground haphazardly. In the center of the ground is the symbol for the Crest of Lamine on a piece of parchment._

**Zelhira: **It doesn’t really look like a struggle… It seems more like somebody came in here looking for something and didn’t find it. As for what it could be, I’m afraid I don’t know. I’m going to stay here and make sure the scene isn’t disturbed. Come back whenever you’d like.

**Seraphine: **How strange… Who would want to snoop in Florence’s room? Why would they leave that paper on the floor like that? I don’t get it.

_You head up to the second floor of dorms. You see one person at the end of the row, and You realize it is Chris upon getting closer._

**Chris: **Everything that’s happened so far this year makes me feel sick… First, there was that Crest scholar incident. After that, we discovered an army planning to overthrow Faerghus. Then, we had to deal with Lord Bazler and my father. Now, we’ve got two people missing… I don’t know what to do. I hate it though… You already know everything that happened when I realized Florence was gone, so I won’t bore you with the details… Just… Help us find her, okay? I’m scared out of my mind.

_You head back downstairs and see Nora standing alone in the greenhouse._

**Nora: **If you ask me, Malice has something to do with this. I’m sure of it. Everything up to this point has involved Malice. Why would this be any different? I don’t know what the full truth is, but they have to be tied into this somehow… I just don’t know how…

_You leave the greenhouse to go to the fishing hole. The fishing hole has one person of note standing near it, and that person is Nesreen._

**Nesreen: **I haven’t found anything related to the disappearances of Herwig or Florence. I’ve searched the monastery top to bottom multiple times. I’ve asked surrounding towns if any people have seen anything. Nothing… If you ask me, whoever did this never left the monastery. They’re still here. No magic could teleport them that great a distance… Florence and Herwig are here.

_You leave the fishing hole and head to the stables, where You see Rodain._

**Rodain: **Hm… I wish I knew where those two got off to. Lady Aisa finally gave us knights a mission. We’re supposed to check the monastery and the surrounding towns on a daily basis. I’m heading out in a few hours to see what’s going on… I hope we can find something sooner rather than later.

_Also in the stables is Adrian, who You approach next._

**Adrian: **This disappearance incident is only worrying me further… You know, last year, Professor Wessin was my teacher too. To think that something bad could have happened to him… I hope they turn up soon. I don’t know what I’ll do if we lose him…

_You leave the stables to enter the knights’ hall. Cordelia and Kaeta stand together near a training dummy._

**Cordelia: **Kaeta, have you searched for Florence and Herwig yet today?

**Kaeta: **Yeah… I checked the garden, but something seemed off to me. Have there always been that many bushes in there?

**Cordelia: **Why wouldn’t there be bushes in the garden…?

**Kaeta: **I don’t know. Something about it just seemed weird. Maybe we should try and investigate it in the future.

**Cordelia: **Hm… I’ll have to keep it in mind.

_You head down to the marketplace next. Once there, You run into Tuncay._

**Tuncay: **You know, I sort of wonder when Flower was taken… I mean, a lot of people were upset enough to hide away in their rooms after that last mission. Even if a house didn’t go out for the mission, we had a lot of thinking to do. I mean, Chess didn’t get out until last night when we realized Flower was gone… What if she’s been gone for longer than we realize? I don’t like this one bit.

_You head into the entrance hall just north of the marketplace. Inside, there are a few clusters of people. You see Raithius and Novalee standing together._

**Raithius: **Lord Columbus is tied into everything that’s been happening… I don’t like that.

**Novalee: **I don’t either… He’s never been a kind man, and this… This only makes things worse.

**Raithius: **His connections to Bazler are concerning. If Canis is truly involved in all this--

**Novalee: **Ah, hello, Professor… Forgive us. Keep going on about your business.

**Seraphine: **I guess they’re talking about that Leicester lord… I guess they’d both know about him…

_Further into the reception hall is Illona._

**Illona: **The Crest of Lamine… There’s one house in Faerghus that has it. It’s really stingy with people who have Crests. Anybody with a Crest is trapped in that house forever. Those who don’t have Crests are tossed aside like trash… I wonder if that house is truly involved in what happened to Florence and Professor Wessin…

_Also inside the entrance hall is Karim, who You approach next._

**Karim: **I have a bad feeling about whatever happened to Florence… It can’t be good, whatever it is. She’s never shown signs of having a Crest before, so why would there suddenly be a symbol for the Crest of Lamine in her room? It doesn’t make sense… Plus, she’s from Adrestia, and Lamine is a Faerghus house. How weird.

_The final person in the entrance hall is Piers, and You walk up to him next._

**Piers: **I’ve checked all the surrounding towns already today. I’m utterly exhausted. I know everyone has good intentions in trying to find her, but I’m starting to wonder if she really wants to be found… Even if she does, we could be too late. Whatever happened, it’s bad, but I’m sure you already knew that.

_You walk into the reception hall next, and You run into Polly and Kyle soon after entering the room._

**Kyle: **Polly, I know that a lot has happened as of late… Perhaps we should try and unwind… We could try to take our minds off this.

**Polly: **I can’t just forget about this. It’s not an option for me at the moment. I need to find them.

**Kyle: **But you won’t be able to help anyone if you’re exhausted… Come on. Let’s go and try to calm down for a moment…

**Polly: **No… I need to make sure that they’re okay first… That’s my first priority.

**Kyle: **Polly…

_Sensing that they are discussing something serious, You walk away. Next, You run into Miriam, who is standing alone._

**Miriam: **You know, I checked for Florence’s mount. If she had really run away, she would have taken her pegasus with her… And yet, the pegasus is still here. If that’s not proof of suspicious actions, then I don’t know what is. I’m going to take care of the pegasus until Florence returns, but… I can tell she misses her rider already.

_The final person in the reception hall is Sofia, and You walk up to her._

**Sofia: **Florence… I always wanted to get to know her better, though I would be lying if I said I knew how to go about something like that. Now, there’s the chance that she’ll never come back again, and if she does, she’ll never be the same again… I don’t like that. Florence, please be okay… For all of our sakes.

_You head north further towards the cathedral. On the bridge there, You run into Callisto, who is staring over the edge silently._

**Callisto: **Florence… If I’m honest, she always made me feel a bit more normal around here. I mean, she’s one of the only other commoners at the school, and being in the same house made me even more comfortable. I hope that she’s alright… Please be alright…

_You fully enter the cathedral. Inside, You encounter Aquillus rather quickly._

**Aquillus: **I wish I could tell you that I had found something to show where Florence went… I’m afraid I don’t know what to do from here. Everybody I’ve asked says they know nothing, and I can tell they’re being honest… If you ask me, whoever did this isn’t involved with the monastery.

_The next people You encounter in the cathedral are Aestlyn and Cassia, who You approach._

**Aestlyn: **Everything has been moving so fast… I was under the impression that the Officers Academy was a way to hone one’s skills free of risk, but… It seems that was false.

**Cassia: **Something about this year is strange… There’s been many more fights than you’d expect, and they’re all so dangerous… I bet Florence got caught up in it as well.

**Aestlyn: **I would assume the same… I hope nothing else bad happens to the rest of us…

**Cassia: **I hope we’re alright too… After all, what good are we to Florence if we’re caught as well?

_You approach William next._

**William: **I’ve probably told you this before, but… I didn’t know I had a Crest until shortly before I came to the Officers Academy. I wonder if the same applies to Florence with the Crest of Lamine… Wouldn’t that be something else?

_The final person in the cathedral, Adeline, is standing nearby. You walk up to her._

**Adeline: **Columbus territory isn’t far from my home… I heard that Lord Columbus is involved from Raithius and Novalee. Columbus territory isn’t somewhere you want to be… That’s putting it nicely. After we leave the Academy, if you go off to find work… Stay far away from Columbus lands. It’s for your own safety.

_You leave the cathedral behind and walk upstairs. Once upstairs, You go to your first destination, which is the library. Inside, You encounter Niko and Derric._

**Derric: **I’ve been searching for any other references of Malice, but… I can’t find anything.

**Niko: **Me neither… It seems so odd. If they’ve truly been active for so long, why is there so little information?

**Derric: **The information that we do have doesn’t say anything about them taking people randomly…

**Niko: **Whatever this is, I don’t like it… Malice is planning something big, and Florence is just part of their scheme…

_You leave the library and head for the professor dorms. The only dorm that’s open is Herwig’s, and You see Yuliya inside it._

**Yuliya: **I’m sure you’ve already heard the full story about what happened… I was out on night watch, and that was when I heard sounds coming from the room. When the door was forced open, there were traces of magic in the air, and this paper was left behind… I wish I could tell you anything more, but I’m just as clueless as you are. It’s so odd…

_You make for the cardinals’ room, and inside, You see Reese and Jill talking._

**Reese: **Ah, Professor… We were just saying how good it is that we have you around right now. Allow us to catch you up.

**Jill: **While you’re with the Golden Deer, I will be looking over the Black Eagles for the month.

**Reese: **Don’t worry though. She’ll still return for the mission at the end of the month.

**Jill: **We have it all under control. No need to worry.

_You walk to the room where Aisa and Roy are located._

**Roy: **So, Professor… Have you looked around for any traces of Herwig or Florence?

_You nod and tell them what You have learned._

**Aisa: **So, the paper found in both their rooms only appeared after they went missing… I saw it earlier in the morning. It doesn’t look like a page from any book.

**Roy: **It’s acting as a calling card, in other words.

**Aisa: **I fear that may be the case…

**Roy: **And the garden… It appears that is a point of interest for us to investigate.

**Aisa: **I do not know what could be there… But we need to check it out.

_You nod your agreement._

**Aisa: **Thank you for the report, Professor. You may go.

_As You leave, Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **I’m wiped… Enough of the drama. Let’s hit the hay.

_You head to your room and sit on your bed._

**Seraphine: **Something happened to Florence and Herwig… It’s suspected that they were kidnapped… I don’t know what to do with that sort of information. I mean, it’s not like we can just go out and save them now, right? That’s out of the question… Gods above, this is frustrating… We’ll just have to keep looking tomorrow. For now, goodnight.

_You fall asleep soon after. Even in your dreams, You hope for a clue to come to You, but nothing does, leaving your sleep dull and upsetting as answers escape You for one night more..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter five ends tonight oop
> 
> -Digital


	34. Chapter Five: Beneath the Surface II (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go with the Golden Deer and Cordelia to investigate Florence and Herwig's disappearances.

_At the end of the month, You stand in the Golden Deer homeroom with the class and Jill._

**Raithius: **We’re done waiting around. It’s time we went off to find Florence.

**Novalee: **People are mostly positive that the garden is tied in with the disappearances of Florence and Professor Wessin.

**Sofia: **Why are we just standing around here? It’s time to find them.

**Cedric: **We can’t get into this yet. I heard that we’re going to have a visitor with us this time, somebody to help us out.

**Jill: **I hope that she’ll be able to assist us in some way… If not, then we’re certainly in trouble, given how much authority she has.

**Wolfgang: **Who are you talking about?

**William: **See for yourself.

_William points to the door as it opens, Cordelia entering the room._

**Cordelia: **Well, let’s jump right into this. We’ve got some people to save.

**Adeline: **You’re the knight captain, right?

**Cordelia: **I am. Captain Torryn reporting for duty. The archbishop asked that I come with you on this mission to make sure nothing went horribly wrong. If there are no further objections, then we can get going now.

**Lev: **Then let’s not waste a moment…

_You leave the classroom to head in the direction of the garden. Seraphine walks at your side._

**Seraphine: **If the garden is really the place where everything happened, then let’s hope nothing bad happens to us here… I don’t want to be the next victim of kidnapping.

_You stop in front of a large bush in the garden. Cordelia points to it and shakes her head._

**Cordelia: **Unnatural… Something is going on here. This doesn’t seem like it belongs. It’s so much bigger than everything else in the area, but they should be the same age and same size.

_Cordelia parts the greenery, and inside, You see a secret passage._

**William:** It looks like a hallway of some sort.

**Sofia: **Well, I certainly didn’t see that coming.

**Cordelia: **I heard people saying that there was something wrong in the garden, but I didn’t expect this.

**Cedric: **No point in standing around. I won’t be able to forgive myself if they get into trouble while we’re just waiting.

**Lev: **I agree… Come on.

_Cordelia starts into the passage._

**Cordelia: **It’s much larger than you’d expect… I mean, the opening is pretty small, but once you get down here, it’s huge… And it’s old, too.

**Novalee: **I wonder where it came from… How long has it been here without being discovered?

**Wolfgang: **The monastery is rather old… It’s been around for just about a thousand years. Those who were there for its construction are no longer around. Finding all the secrets of this place would be impossible… I guess we’ll just have to be the first one to go in.

**Adeline: **Then off we go.

**Raithius: **There’s a lot of space in there. I’m positive that we could all hop in without worry of crowding each other.

**Jill: **Then off we go.

_The rest of the students and Jill go inside of the passage, and You take up the rear._

**Seraphine: **It might open up down here, but there’s no space for me to stand without getting walked through. I’m sick of this. See you around.

_Seraphine retreats in your mind._

**Cordelia: **Quiet, everyone… I hear noise.

_The students fall silent as the group stops. The passage has widened out to show a large room beneath the ground. On the floor just before the entrance are two figures._

**Cordelia: **That’s Florence and Herwig!

**William: **Lucky for us, they only appear to be unconscious.

**Lev: **We still need to get them help now.

**Cedric: **But we aren’t alone… That’s not an option right now.

_You follow Cedric’s direction and see a cluster of mages wearing black robes scattered about the room. They all have distorted Crests sewn into their robes._

**Sofia: **Looks like Malice is responsible…

**Novalee: **Look at Florence… She…

_You focus your attention to Florence once more. A Crest has activated above her head despite her being unconscious, and it doesn’t take You long to recognize the symbol._

**Adeline: **The Crest of Lamine…!

**Cordelia: **I’ve had enough of waiting around. We have to get in there.

_Cordelia enters the room fully._

**Cordelia: **Hey!

_The mages in the room all turn to face her. The leader steps forward. His name is Glendon._

**Glendon: **Damn it all!

**Raithius:** What about Florence and Professor Wessin? We can’t just leave them like that.

**Cordelia: **There are too many of them for us to just send somebody off to have them healed. We’re short on troops as it is.

**Jill: **All we can do is go on the defensive and make sure they don’t get hit while we’re moving forward.

**Cordelia: **Exactly.

**Adeline: **I don’t see any life-threatening injuries… It’s all minor stuff. We can leave them be for now, but we can’t rest on our laurels.

**Cassia: **We can’t put them in danger… Be careful, everyone.

**Raithius: **Is it time, Professor?

_You nod._

**Jill: **Golden Deer! The time is now!

_The battle begins. The Golden Deer fight violently against the mages, being careful to defend Florence and Herwig during the battle. However, things do not remain peaceful, and a Crest activates over one of the mages’ heads during the battle. Note: this particular mage is predetermined to activate the Crest of Dominic whenever fought for the first time. Rion’s Unio Crest is also guaranteed to trigger during this fight the first time they initiate combat. Every enemy on this battlefield has a randomly generated Crest, though Unio and the Crest of Flames are kept out of the rotation._

**Cordelia: **Wait… Did you see that?!

**Raithius:** It was a Crest! It’s printed on the mage’s robes too…

**Adeline: **How can this be real?

**Lev: **They shouldn’t have these Crests…

**Sofia:** Think back to what Lord Bazler mentioned last month.

**Wolfgang: **Some people have figured out how to give and remove Crests.

**William: **There’s no way these Crests are real then.

**Cedric: **That’s insane!

**Novalee: **Thinking about that isn’t our priority right now. The battle is what matters at the moment.

_If You initiate combat against Glendon, this dialogue plays out._

**Glendon: **Unio… I know a thing or two about Unio… You’re a special one, aren’t you? I remember when that Crest was first given… But no matter. Goodbye.

_If Raithius initiates combat against Glendon, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius:** I don’t know who you are or why you’re at the monastery, but I intend to find out.

**Glendon: **We needed that girl… Seeing a bearer of Lamine is so rare these days. Experiments needed to be done.

**Raithius:** Florence… She--

**Glendon: **Has the Crest of Lamine? Yes. And he knew about it.

**Raithius: **I still don’t understand who you are. Why don’t you tell me that now?

**Glendon: **Don’t the black robes tell you all you need to know?

**Raithius: **Malice.

**Glendon: **The same group that killed your…

**Raithius: **You mean that you--

**Glendon: **Quiet, child. Let’s finish this.

_If Wolfgang initiates combat against Glendon, this dialogue plays out._

**Glendon: **You’re an odd one, aren’t you…?

**Wolfgang: **Are you talking to me?

**Glendon: **I don’t know how to describe it… Something about you is strange… You have something you shouldn’t…

**Wolfgang: **What are you talking about?

**Glendon: **You must realize what it is.

**Wolfgang: **…

**Glendon: **But I’ll leave it up to you to decide what you do with that information.

**Wolfgang: **Enough talking. Let’s just end this.

**Glendon:** I can sense Crests in people… And yours is one that shouldn’t be there…

**Wolfgang: **Enough! Die, dastard!

_When Glendon is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Glendon: **Pathetic children…

_After the battle, each of the Golden Deer stands in front of Glendon’s dead body. All of the mages were killed in the battle due to this being a rout mission._

**Raithius: **Thank the gods Florence and Professor Wessin are alright…

**Novalee: **There’s paper everywhere… Messy fiends… It must be evidence of what they were doing down here.

**Jill: **I’m going to take Florence and Herwig to safety. Lev, William, Adeline, you’re with me. Let’s get going.

**William: **Got it.

**Lev: **Understood.

**Adeline: **Stay safe, everyone!

_Jill, Adeline, William, and Lev leave with Florence and Herwig._

**Cordelia: **Let’s look at these papers… Wait. This one has steps to… Giving somebody a Crest?!

**Sofia: **So it is true…

**Wolfgang: **None of those Crests were real… They acted just like regular Crests, but they were all fake.

**Cedric: **Must be complicated…

**Cordelia: **This document calls it a blood reconstruction surgery… But what could they want with Florence or Herwig?

**Raithius: **Oh, here’s something… It’s about Florence. It says she has the Crest of Lamine… What if that’s why they brought her here?

**Novalee: **Did she have it by birth or not?

**Raithius: **It was natural. Professor Wessin seems to have been aware of it as well…

**Cedric: **They wanted her to experiment on her Crest.

**Novalee: **Professor Wessin got involved because he knew the truth.

**Wolfgang: **She never mentioned bearing a Crest though…

**Cedric: **The Crest of Lamine activates when using healing magic. Florence usually uses lances in battle, and it was easy to hide because of that.

**Raithius: **Since she didn’t move to refine her skills with healing, she didn’t realize it was there.

**Novalee: **If it ever did show itself, she would hide it anyways to make sure that she wasn’t left at risk.

**Seraphine: **Sounds to me like we know what the archbishop was talking about… Herwig brought her to the school because he could tell that she had a Crest. A commoner having a Crest is odd. He wanted to be around her more to confirm his suspicions… But he didn’t want to get anybody’s hopes up in case he wound up being wrong.

**Wolfgang: **I somehow doubt she was aware it was there…

**Raithius: **There’s so much here… These few pages say what houses have what Crests. Some even comment on the frequency of Crests in some bloodlines.

**Novalee: **Feel free to read it then. We need to hear that.

**Raithius: **The Crest of Seiros is found in Adrestia with the Faixnoye family. Cichol is shared by the Riverbane and Doroftie families from Adrestia. Cethleann is in Bazler, but there hasn’t been somebody with it in a long time. Indech-Lavellan and Torryn share the Crest of Indech and are in Adrestia and Faerghus respectively. Macuil can be found in both the Wessin and Einem families of Adrestia.

**Wolfgang: **Wait… Cethleann is from the Bazler line? But Zelhira has it, and she isn’t related to Bazler… Right?

**Sofia: **How could somebody to sweet and nice be related to that monster?

**Raithius: **Magnolia’s line, Josefa, has the Crest of Blaiddyd. Fraldarius is from Berniere. Gautier is found in House Faren. Lamine’s Crest is in the house named after said Crest in Faerghus. Dominic is shared between the houses Dominic and Dragoste, but both houses fell many years ago, meaning the Crest is nearly lost from history.

**Cedric: **Kyle’s surname is Dragoste… Does this mean that he shares a connection with that house? And what of Derric, who has the Crest…?

**Raithius: **My family, the Origo line, has Riegan. Houses Aster and Admoderor share Nora. They’re in Faerghus and Leicester respectively. Daphnel can be found in Mikhailikov and Schlarzer from Leicester and Adrestia. Chevalier is split between Chevalier and Columbus from Faerghus and Leicester.

**Wolfgang: **Chevalier… I see…

**Raithius: **There’s just a few left now. Gloucester is in Ruden and Eir, both of which are from Leicester. House Urswick has Maurice. Charon is located in Belmontai from Leicester and Schweighen from Faerghus.

**Sofia:** What about the last few? I know you haven’t said Ernest yet.

**Raithius: **The bearers of Ernest, Aubin, and Timotheos traveled beyond the borders of the continent to Brigid, Albinea, and Duscur respectively. The people who inherited those Crests have to be from those three countries.

**Novalee: **Doesn’t Hegias have Ernest…?

**Cedric:** Does that wrap things up?

**Sofia: **Are the professor’s Crests mentioned there?

**Wolfgang: **They are on this page… The Crest of Flames hasn’t been seen since the previous emperor, Hugh von Faixnoye. It manifested in the two years leading up to his death. Unio, on the other hand, is like the previous three. Its sole bearer went missing and hasn’t been seen in quite some time.

**Sofia: **My head is spinning from all this…

**Cedric: **Information like what Crests are found where is rather common, but it doesn’t hurt to have this on hand.

**Raithius: **What I don’t get is how Florence wound up with the Crest of Lamine. She’s from Adrestia, not Faerghus, but that’s the only place Lamine can be found.

**Sofia: **All we can do is ask Florence herself about it.

**Raithius: **We should go see her and Professor Wessin now.

**Cordelia: **I’m going to have the knights secure the area… I don’t know how Malice managed to make a hideout down here, underneath the damn monastery, but I’m going to find out.

**Raithius: **They probably used warping magic. That’s how they got away from Professor Wessin’s room, so they need to have somebody who can use it.

**Novalee: **They left behind the symbol of Lamine to communicate to us that Florence had it and that Professor Wessin knew… It helped us, but I somehow doubt it was out of the kindness of their hearts.

**Cordelia: **Luckily, it seems to me like we prevented whatever their plan was from being carried out.

**Cedric: **Before we go, let’s see if we can find anything else.

**Sofia: **I like that idea.

_Raithius leans down and picks up a paper._

**Raithius: **Hey… This one talks about the Faixnoye family.

**Wolfgang: **What’s written on it?

**Novalee: **It seems they’re tied into this more than we originally expected…

**Raithius: **I couldn’t even begin to count how many names are on here… But none of them are familiar. They’ve all got dates from the past thirty years, but they cut off randomly twelve years ago.

**Cedric:** What does that mean?

**Raithius: **I’ve got no idea. The public, and other countries, for that matter, only know about one person, so where the hell did these guys come from? More importantly, where did they go? They all seem so young…

**Sofia:** Man… This lack of answers is starting to bug me.

_Novalee reaches down and picks up a paper._

**Novalee: **Well, doesn’t this name look familiar…

**Cedric:** Whose name is on it?

**Novalee: **Hegias needs to see this. I’m off to give it to him. Until next time.

_Novalee leaves the room._

**Raithius: **Nova! Come back!

**Cordelia: **Don’t. She needs to do something important, and we should let her. Besides, we need to go and make sure that your classmate and teacher are alright.

**Novalee: **Yeah… Nova will be fine… They need us now.

**Cordelia: **I’m going to get some knights, and we’re going to clean this place out. If there’s any remaining evidence, then we’ll find it for sure.

_The students all start to leave, and You follow them._

**Seraphine: **We’ve learned a lot here today… But we can’t think on it for too long. We need to make sure that Florence and Herwig are okay before doing anything else.

_You nod your agreement and leave behind the underground passage to go and visit the infirmary. When You arrive, Jill and Reese are standing next to Florence and Herwig. The rest of the Golden Deer are in the room as well, but Novalee is still absent._

**Jill: **Professor… Glad to see you made it safe.

**Reese: **Thanks to the students bringing them here, we got our examination done quickly… They’re going to be fine.

**Jill: **I’m sure you remember the knockout gas from that mission a few months ago. It was from the quest to Aster territory. Some variation of that was used here, but it was an injection instead. 

**Reese: **It doesn’t do any significant harm aside from triggering unconsciousness. They should be awake soon.

**Jill: **What did you find out?

_You tell them that there are many papers down in the hideout that speak of human experimentation._

**Jill: **Human experimentation… And those mages were doing it?

**Reese: **With how much it seems you found, it sounds to me like this was going on for quite a while.

**Jill: **I don’t know how Malice got down there, but they’re not going to be getting away with it.

**Florence: **Ugh…

**Reese: **Ah! She’s coming to!

**Florence: **What’s going on…?

**Jill: **How do you feel?

**Florence: **My head hurts…

**Jill: **But otherwise?

**Florence: **I’m fine…

**Herwig: **Ah…

**Reese: **There we go… Sit up, Professor. Tell us what you saw.

**Florence: **We’re back in the monastery…?

**Herwig: **It appears so…

**Raithius: **I’m so glad to see that you’re both up and at it again.

**Sofia: **You were stuck down there for a month, but you still came out alive.

**Adeline: **We were worried sick…

**Cedric: **Don’t overwhelm them. They must be exhausted.

**Lev: **What even happened to you two…?

**Florence: **Um… I don’t know where to start…

**William: **Start from when you were taken.

**Herwig: **It… It was all after the last mission to Bazler territory. Florence needed some time to herself, but I was starting to get worried about her, so I went into her room to check up on her.

**Florence: **While he was there, we started talking, and… We got onto the topic of Crests soon enough.

**Herwig: **And I… I shared a few suspicions of mine.

**Raithius: **She has the Crest of Lamine.

**Herwig: **How did you—

**Raithius: **We found the symbol on a piece of paper left in your rooms after you disappeared.

**Herwig: **I see… Well, you are correct. I could sense something strange about Florence, and I invited her to the Academy. I suspected that she had a Crest, and I realized what Crest it was soon after.

**Florence: **That’s when we were taken… The mages experimented on us all month. I had to activate my Crest over and over for them to research it… Same with Professor Wessin.

**Herwig: **Luckily, it seems that you all were able to save us before things could go wrong further.

**Wolfgang: **I’m just relieved you’re okay now…

**Herwig: **Still, I don’t understand how the Crest of Lamine could have wound up in Florence… I’ve been doing some research, and I have a theory, but there’s no concrete evidence for it now.

**William: **Share it anyways. We’re happy to listen.

**Herwig: **Many years ago, a few children were born in the Crest of Lamine. Only one of them had a Crest, and the others all ran away. I suspect that one such child was Florence’s mother, and even if she didn’t manifest a Crest, her daughter did.

**Florence: **That makes sense…

**Reese: **I’m glad you’re doing better now.

**Jill: **Since you’re awake, we’ll do one last examination to make sure that you’re alright to get up and move around.

**Reese: **In the meantime, Professor, you should go and report everything that happened to the archbishop.

**Jill: **As for the rest of you, go back to your homeroom. We can’t work when there’s this many people in here.

**Raithius: **Good luck on recovering.

_The Golden Deer leave the room._

**Reese: **We’ll talk to you later, Professor.

**Jill: **Good luck.

_You walk out of the room. Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **I wonder what’s up with Novalee… She’s still not here. She wasn’t in that room to begin with… Maybe we should go and see her a bit later.

_You nod your agreement as You arrive outside Aisa’s room. You knock and enter. Inside, You see Aisa and Roy standing together._

**Aisa: **Professor… I heard your mission was a success.

**Roy: **The knights are investigating the underground passage as we speak.

**Aisa: **So many twisted people used Crests to their advantage in such a way… It truly is sickening.

**Roy: **Professor, I’m relieved to see that you have rescued Florence and Herwig.

**Aisa: **Cordelia already told us the information you found in their files…

**Roy: **Herwig brought Florence here since he realized she had the Crest of Lamine. Those were his suspicions from all that time ago.

**Aisa: **And it got them into so much trouble… At least they have been taken care of.

**Roy: **The Malice mages from beneath the monastery are all gone now. We’ll be looking into everything they left behind to see if we can find anything that will aid us in the future.

**Aisa: **You have learned much today. I appreciate all that you have done to rescue both Florence and Herwig.

**Roy: **If all goes well, they will be returned to full health sooner rather than later. Jill is a potent medic, and Reese knows what he’s doing when it comes to patching up injuries.

**Aisa: **You were there when the research was gone over, meaning that you do not need to hear it again. You heard of what Crest belongs to each house. While this was assumed to be common knowledge, it is still an important thing to keep in mind.

**Roy: **This year, we have something special as well…

**Aisa: **After all, the Crests of Ernest, Aubin, and Timotheos have returned from lands beyond the border…

**Roy: **The Crest of Ernest… How curious.

**Aisa: **You are dismissed, Professor.

_You nod and walk away as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Well, we should head back to the classroom… The other students will want to see us. Maybe Florence and Herwig are feeling well enough to join us.

_You make your way to the classroom. When You arrive, You see Jill and the Golden Deer inside. However, Novalee is still absent._

**Jill: **Just like that, we’re finished.

**William: **How are Florence and Professor Wessin doing?

**Jill: **I gave them the clear to go back to their rooms. They’re going to be fine, but they’re a bit tired at the moment.

**Sofia: **Let’s get this over with sooner rather than later… I am absolutely wiped. Who knew learning about human experimentation was this exhausting?

**Lev:** The knights will take care of things.

**Adeline: **We’ll be the first ones to know if something is revealed.

**Cedric: **Captain Torryn will make sure it’s all okay.

**Raithius: **What about Novalee? She took off so quickly… What if something bad happened that worried her?

_You tell him that You will go and make sure that she is alright._

**Raithius: **Thanks, Professor… I need that.

**Wolfgang:** I’m done for the day… Goodnight, everyone.

**Adeline: **Security is going to be increased because of what happened… The knights aren’t going to stand by and let it repeat.

**Cedric: **Goodnight, classmates…

**Jill: **Don’t concern yourselves too much with Florence and Professor Wessin. I promise that they’ll be alright.

**William: **I pray this doesn’t happen again… But for now, goodnight.

_You watch as everyone leaves._

**Seraphine: **Well, let’s go check on Novalee… I hope nothing bad happened.

_You go to Novalee’s dorm and knock on the door gently._

**Novalee: **Who is it?

_You tell her it’s You._

**Novalee: **Ah, Professor. Hello.

_She opens the door. You ask if she’s okay._

**Novalee: **I’m okay. I needed to give Hegias something, but now that he has it, there’s nothing left for me to do.

**Seraphine: **I wonder what she could have needed him to know so desperately…

_You ask her if she’s sure._

**Novalee: **Positive. Until next time, Professor.

_Realizing that You won’t be able to get her to talk about it, You tell her to have a nice night._

**Novalee:** Farwell.

_She closes the door. After watching it shut, You head back to your room and sit down on your bed._

**Seraphine: **That was a mess and a half… I’m sick of all this. Can’t we just have one month that isn’t a mess?

_You shrug to yourself and lay down._

**Seraphine: **Either way, I’m exhausted… Goodnight.

_Seraphine falls asleep soon after, but You find that You are struggling to sleep. You cannot help but worry about the information found under the monastery. The Bazler and Dragoste houses cross your mind at one point. Soon after, You think about what could have bothered Novalee so much about Hegias. You hope Novalee decides to open up about it sooner rather than later. With a million thoughts spinning in your head, You fall into a restless sleep. Despite the mages being out of the picture, You cannot help but think that this isn’t the end. Something larger than a single group is going on here, and You do not like it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm off to eat now and yay chapter five is over
> 
> -Digital


	35. Chapter Six: Tainted Memories I (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You learn about the bloody history of the Alliance royalty's relations.

_When the next month, the Horsebow Moon, begins, You wake up and head towards the room where Aisa and Roy usually are. Seraphine speaks to You as You walk._

**Seraphine: **I can’t help but wonder what we’ll be up to this time around… Maybe we’ll have to do something involving Columbus territory since the lord there is supposedly involved with Bazler. Maybe it’s time for us to track down Bazler since Florence and Herwig have been found. Maybe we’re finally going to find the people who knocked us out the day we recovered that memory of the past… I’m sick of waiting around for something like that to happen. Can’t we just hear the truth already?

_You cannot help but agree with Seraphine about being tired of waiting without seeing many results. However, You know that You do not get to decide the mission, so You approach Aisa and Roy to ask for what they want You to do._

**Aisa: **It’s good to see you, Professor. It’s time for us to give you the next month’s mission.

**Roy: **We were going to send you to Columbus territory to investigate the lord’s involvement with Lord Bazler, but we need more time to gather information. For right now, we want you to do something else within Leicester territory.

**Seraphine: **Great. Another month where we don’t get any answers. This is starting to get a wee bit frustrating. Can’t we catch a break every once in a while?

**Aisa: **We have reason to believe that Malice has appeared in Leicester, something that has happened before…

**Roy: **Malice has committed two major crimes in Leicester as far as we are aware, though both of them were ultimately swept under the rug. The first had the younger of the two sons in the Alliance being attacked and nearly killed. This caused Leicester to go on high alert to try and find the culprits, but nobody was ever officially revealed to be the culprit.

**Aisa: **However, since they were dressed in black, it seems clear as day to me that they were involved with Malice… However, this wasn’t the only time they appeared before the Alliance territory.

**Roy: **The second time, an important family in Leicester was targeted. It was the family of the military leader in the Alliance. Each member of the family was killed, found dead in their house. The culprit was never found, but there were a few scraps of fabric left behind that seemed to have distorted Crest emblems carved into them.

**Seraphine: **Why are we just now hearing about this?

_You ask why Aisa and Roy never brought this up sooner._

**Aisa: **We weren’t sure if it was true or not… We needed some extra time to confirm our suspicions.

**Roy: **Not much information was released about either attack, meaning we had to go back to square one to investigate the incidents.

**Seraphine: **Why would it be pushed under the rug like that…? That certainly seems odd, if you ask me.

**Aisa: **Regardless of how long it took us to come to this conclusion, the fact remains that you’ll be following one of the three houses to victory this coming month. Hopefully, you’ll be able to gather information about Malice involvement in the Alliance, and if you can find important details, we’ll be able to press on and perhaps find the people behind this.

**Roy: **I’m afraid we’re struggling to tie up loose ends with Malice in other nations at the moment. There hasn’t been enough for us to go off to find Marcus from Faerghus or Bazler from Adrestia, leaving us in a bit of a tight spot.

**Seraphine: **So, in other words, we get this, or we have to deal with just going at it without help… Damn.

**Aisa: **So, Professor… What will it be?

_You think it over briefly before deciding to follow the Golden Deer for the coming month._

**Roy: **Golden Deer it is?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **In that case, perhaps it’s time for you to go and discuss the coming month with your class.

**Roy: **I’m sure they’re waiting for you.

_You thank them for the update and start to head towards the classroom._

**Seraphine: **So, it looks like all we can do at this point is hope that something comes up while we’re out in Leicester trying to find an answer… It’s been a month since we’ve had any memories awakened again. Maybe we’ll be lucky and see something that we haven’t before. I’m sick of just knowing one thing about our past. We just know that we went to that one village when we were younger alongside Evenor… Who the hell is she, anyways? How is she related to us? Will we ever find an answer?

_You enter the Golden Deer classroom and see the students standing with Jill._

**Jill: **Welcome, Professor. We were just discussing our plan for the coming month.

**Raithius:** I was going to explain the past incidents in which Malice has appeared. Now that you’re here, you can go on and listen in.

**Novalee: **I had a feeling they’d be involved in Leicester… It would be odd if just the other two countries were tied into this mess.

**Sofia: **I suppose we might as well get comfy… It sounds like this one is going to be a doozy.

**Raithius: **You could say that… The first time Malice appeared, I was relatively young. At the time, my mother had just passed away. I was living with my maternal grandfather and brother. Our father had disappeared a few years before, and in the end, my mother couldn’t take it.

**William: **I always heard that the archduke had died…

**Raithius: **That’s what was announced publicly after a few years. He went missing and was announced dead soon after, but no body was ever found.

**Lev: **How strange…

**Raithius: **Anyways, a few assassins wearing black snuck into the capital. They tried to kidnap my brother, and I refused to let them get away with it. That… That was my first real battle. The leader of the group tried to grab at me too, but I somehow got him off my back.

**Cedric: **Judging by the fact that you’re still here, it didn’t go too wrong.

**Raithius: **Yeah. The guards arrived on the scene to chase them off, and everything was fine after that… Those soldiers in black weren’t seen again for quite some time… In fact, they weren’t ever seen. The second time that they appeared, nobody witnessed them.

**Adeline: **I think I know what you’re talking about here…

**Wolfgang: **Really? What happened?

**Adeline: **The family of the main general in the Alliance was found dead in their home. Every member of the family was killed gruesomely, and a few pieces of fabric were found with distorted Crests on them. Nobody knew what it meant… Not until recently.

**Lev: **Distorted Crests… The main sign of Malice…

**Raithius: **Yeah… At the time, I was set to marry the sole daughter of the family. Even if they didn’t have a Crest, they held much influence due to their military prowess.

**Wolfgang: **Why were they all killed like that…?

**Cedric: **The general assumption is that it happened because of their connections to the royal family, but there’s no proof to back that up.

**Lev: **Malice sure does enjoy stirring up trouble, it seems…

**Raithius: **We didn’t know that Malice was a thing up until relatively recently, meaning there wasn’t much we could do as far as the distorted Crests were concerned…

**William: **It seems to me like we’ve got a lot on our plates already…

**Jill: **All we can do at this point is see what happens when the battle rolls around. Everything involving Malice’s involvement in Leicester is based around conjecture at the moment. Solid evidence is scarce at best.

**Lev: **I guess things will just happen then.

**Sofia: **I don’t like not having a plan, but I guess there’s not much that I can do on the matter.

**Novalee: **None of us can do anything…

**Raithius: **Is that all we have to do at the moment?

**Jill: **Yes. Class dismissed.

_The students leave the classroom with Jill, but Raithius and Novalee remain._

**Raithius: **Professor, can we talk to you?

_You nod._

**Novalee: **We have a few suspicions surrounding Malice, to say the least.

**Raithius: **Yeah… I’m sure you heard me talking about my father earlier. We thought that he died because he was missing for a few years.

**Novalee: **Julius Origo… He went missing less than two years after your younger brother was born, Raithius.

**Raithius: **Yeah. He supposedly went out on a mission with the military leader of the Alliance, Louis Stomm. The Stomm family has been leading the military of Leicester for generations, and they’re often seen as the closest advisors to the Origo line.

**Novalee: **Of course, that all changed when the Stomm’s were killed less than three years ago…

**Raithius: **I was going to marry the sole child of the Stomm family’s leader, Ara. However, she was killed alongside her parents, aunt, uncle, and cousins in a bloody massacre.

**Novalee: **The family was wiped off the map so quickly…

**Raithius: **I can’t think of anybody off the top of my head who would bear ill will towards them…

**Novalee: **But let’s get back on track. Your father is what we were discussing.

**Raithius: **Oh, right, right… My father went missing a long time ago, and he was pronounced dead despite no body ever being found.

**Novalee: **There’s no proof to show that he’s dead, but nothing can show if he’s alive either.

**Raithius: **The mission where he went missing is as mysterious as it gets. As soon as it happened, all information surrounding it was eliminated. Any paperwork about it was burned. The people he was set to fight are a mystery too.

**Novalee: **The only people who would be aware of such a fact would be Cynthia Origo, Julius’ wife, or Louis Stomm, but they’re both dead…

**Raithius: **I’m not trying to bombard you with a conspiracy or anything, Professor… Just something to keep in mind.

**Novalee: **If you have any other questions, feel free to come to us and ask.

**Raithius: **Yeah, what she said…

**Seraphine: **I guess when the Stomm family fell, Novalee stepped up to take the position that a Stomm family member would regularly hold…

**Novalee: **Thank you again for listening to us, Professor.

**Raithius: **Yeah, it means a lot… That’s it from us. See you around, Professor.

_Raithius and Novalee walk out of the classroom._

**Seraphine: **Hm… Well, I guess all that we can do at this point is explore the monastery. There’s no solid evidence of anything they said… It’s just speculation right now, and there’s no point getting that deep into it as far as I’m aware… Off we go, Professor.

_You nod your agreement and start to explore the monastery. The first person You see in the courtyard of the Officers Academy is Nora._

**Nora: **Leicester territory, huh… I was thinking that the place had to be involved with Malice somehow, but there’s nothing concrete yet as far as I can tell. Here’s hoping that we can pull something off. I’m sick of not learning much of anything each month.

_The next person in the courtyard is Cedric, and You approach him next._

**Cedric: **Leicester… I grew up surrounded by nobles there, you know. Even if they weren’t officially nobles, the Stomm family was rather close with mine. I always knew they died under mysterious circumstances, but I didn’t realize it went this far… Malice is going to pay for what they did. That’s a promise.

_The final person in the courtyard is Callisto, and You walk up to her._

**Callisto: **I’m so glad that we found Florence, but now we’re being launched into yet another mission… Does it ever end? I wonder if the previous school years have been this messy… Malice obviously indicates that we’re on the verge of something big, but I don’t know what it could be… 

_After leaving the Officers Academy, You head to the training hall. Inside, You see Kaeta soon after entering._

**Kaeta: **Guess what, Professor? I’m going to be joining you on this mission! I’ve had enough of sitting around and doing nothing, so I asked Captain Torryn about it. She went to the archbishop, and Lady Aisa thinks I could benefit from learning under you. Thank goodness… I’m raring to go already.

_Also inside the training hall is Piers, and You walk up to him._

**Piers: **Malice here, Malice there, Malice everywhere… First it was Adrestia when that scholar got attacked, then it was Faerghus with the killers of the previous king, and finally it, it’s Leicester now with assassins that killed a noble family… Just how many of these enemies are there? And where could they have come from?

_You leave the training hall to head to the bottom floor of dorms. Inside one of the dorms is Hegias, and You knock on his door._

**Hegias: **Who is it…?

_You tell him it’s You._

**Hegias: **Ah, hello, Professor…

_You ask if he is alright._

**Hegias: **Oh, I’m fine… Just… Doing a few things on my own. Don’t worry about it. There’s nothing to worry about here.

**Seraphine: **Okay… He’s fine, and I’m perfectly real… But I doubt we’ll be able to get much out of him now… I guess we can just leave him be for now.

_Further down the row of dorms, You see Karim standing alone._

**Karim: **So much is happening this year… Malice’s influence appears to be really widespread but I don’t know what to do about it. I just… Damn it! Why is all of this happening so suddenly? Is there something about this year that makes it so special as opposed to previous years? Why are we the ones getting attacked?

_You tell him that You do not know._

**Karim: **I know… It’s just frustrating, I guess.

_At the edge of the row of dorms, You encounter Wolfgang._

**Wolfgang: **If the previous archduke of the Alliance was taken hostage… I wonder if it could be related to… Ah, Professor!

_You ask her what she was talking about._

**Wolfgang: **It’s nothing. Forget I said anything, actually. That would be best for all of us, if you ask me.

**Seraphine: **She seems pretty firm on not talking to us… Fine. If that’s how she wants to be, then fine. It’s her choice.

_You head upstairs to the second floor of dorms. You don’t see anyone in the hallway, but the farthest dorm in the row has a person in it: Chris. You knock lightly and tell her it’s You._

**Chris: **H-Hello, Professor. You’ll have to forgive my less than optimal state at the moment… I just need some time to myself. I’m writing a letter to my father after what happened… Is that alright?

_You tell her yes._

**Chris: **Thank you again, Professor… I’ll see you later.

**Seraphine: **Of course it has to do with the emperor… Even when he’s not here, he makes me want to punch something.

_You leave the second floor of dorms to enter the greenhouse. Inside, You see Sofia talking to Adeline._

**Sofia: **You seem to be pretty knowledgeable about nobility in Leicester, Adeline.

**Adeline: **I suppose you could say that… Why do you ask?

**Sofia: **Ah… Um… Do you know anything about one Conrad von Ruden…?

**Adeline: **Um… Last I heard, he was growing up well under his father… Are you two related or something?

**Sofia: **I… No. It’s complicated. Forget I said anything.

**Adeline: **If you insist…

_Sensing the heaviness behind their conversation, You leave the greenhouse to go to the fishing hole. Once there, You see Kyle and Aestlyn talking._

**Kyle: **Aren’t you a beautiful one, Aestlyn?

**Aestlyn: **Kyle, where is all of this coming from?

**Kyle: **I got some advice recently to be open with the people I care about, so… I’m going to tell you exactly how I feel.

**Aestlyn: **Well… Isn’t this a very nice thing for a friend to say to another?

**Kyle: **…

**Aestlyn: **Kyle? What is that look of shock about?

**Kyle: **Nothing…

**Aestlyn: **If you insist…

_You leave the fishing hole to head to the market. Once there, You encounter Cordelia standing alone._

**Cordelia: **A lot has been happening recently with Malice… I had to do some real protesting in order to get Kaeta a place working under you in the future. Lady Aisa seems to want all the knights prepared for an attack on the monastery… I just hope the danger of Malice never goes that far.

_You leave the market and head to the entrance hall. You see many people scattered about inside, but the first one You encounter is Tuncay._

**Tuncay: **With all of this chaos, I’ve barely had any time to forge weapons… It’s frustrating, but what can you do? I wish Malice would just roll over and quit these shenanigans already. We’re getting sick of it fast.

_You walk away from Tuncay, and You approach a pair of people standing nearby: Yuliya and Rodain._

**Rodain: **Yuliya, you have a Crest, do you not?

**Yuliya: **Yeah. What about it?

**Rodain: **Oh, nothing… I just didn’t know before. Why don’t you tell people that?

**Yuliya: **It does nothing but bring me trouble from entitled piles of garbage.

**Rodain: **Your Crest does that?

**Yuliya: **I know what I said. Are we done here?

**Rodain: **I suppose so… Sorry for bothering you.

**Yuliya: **Don’t worry about it…

_The next pair You encounter in the entrance hall is Raithius and Novalee._

**Raithius: **Father… I never knew him all that well, but I’m sure you already figured that much out.

**Novalee: **Yeah… I could guess.

**Raithius: **I can’t help but wonder… Was Malice involved in his disappearance?

**Novalee: **It wouldn’t surprise me… Professor. Hello.

**Raithius: **Forgive our mindless rambling, Professor. We were just finishing up.

**Novalee: **Yes… Pardon us.

**Seraphine: **I guess they don’t want anybody listening in on them… Hm. How strange.

_You head into the reception hall next. There are two people there once You arrive, the first of them being Wynne._

**Wynne: **There’s been so much happening lately… And yet, nothing is happening at the same time. How long can Lady Aisa keep us holed up like this when there’s danger out there? Malice is running rampant, but we knights haven’t been able to do anything… Sometimes, I really don’t understand her.

_The second person in the reception hall, Polly, is the next one You speak with._

**Polly: **I still can’t stop thinking about what happened last month with the mages from Malice… They were hiding under the monastery all along thanks to their powerful warp magic. They got away with it almost too easily, if you ask me. They must have really known their stuff to get by without being detected for all that time.

_After leaving the reception hall, You head to the knights’ hall. Inside, You encounter Derric and Niko, who are talking to one another._

**Niko: **Derric, do you… Do you think I’ll have to learn more about fighting soon?

**Derric: **Where is this coming from…?

**Niko: **I think you know… Things are so dangerous all of a sudden. If something happens here at the monastery, I’ll need to know how to defend myself.

**Derric: **As… As much as I hate to say it, I think that might be a good idea.

**Niko: **Will you help me learn?

**Derric: **… If you think it would be for the best…

_Also standing in the knights’ hall is Cassia, and You approach her next._

**Cassia: **I’m planning on becoming a knight after this school year ends, you know… With all that has been happening, I’m sure they’ll have a place for me… Of course, I can’t just ask about it… I don’t know what to do, honestly… Oh, well. I’m sure I can figure it out later.

_You decide to leave the knights’ hall to go to the stables. Inside, You see three people. The first of them is Miriam, who You approach first._

**Miriam: **I truly am happy that Florence is back after last month… Her mount is much happier with her around. I was happy to care for Faith in her absence, but… Her pegasus needs her more than anything else… The bond between steed and rider truly is a special one.

_The second person in the stables is Aquillus, and You walk up to him next._

**Aquillus: **Even if it’s been a while since we saw him, I can’t stop thinking about Bazler… He committed so many unspeakably horrible crimes but got away with it because the emperor owed him a debt… What could they have possibly been connected by? I do hope it had nothing to do with Bazler’s business, but knowing the emperor, it wouldn’t surprise me…

_The final person is Falon, and You walk up to her._

**Falon: **I can’t help but wonder about what happened when we ran into the killers of the previous king… I don’t know why people from Faerghus would want him dead. Franz Josefa was known for his crimes against Albinea, but it was a war most Faerghus people supported… I feel like there’s more than meets the eye as far as his death is concerned…

_You head to the bridge leading over to the cathedral, and standing on the bridge are Magnolia and Illona._

**Magnolia: **Illona, would you care to tell me why I heard some priests talking about an odd girl with lilac hair talking about how she frequently hid arrows in trees to use when she spied on ‘invasive geese’?

**Illona: **Where did you hear that…?

**Magnolia: **You wouldn’t happen to be hiding arrows in trees, would you? And if so, how do you use them to spy on invasive geese?

**Illona: **Everybody knows there are no geese around here…

**Magnolia: **No, there aren’t geese around here…

**Illona: **Maybe they were owls instead…

**Magnolia: **Perhaps…

**Illona: **Well, I’m off to write a letter to my orange-haired knight in shining armor!

**Magnolia: **I swear, not even the goddess herself could still that tongue of yours…

_When You arrive in the cathedral, You see four people. The first of them is William, and You walk up to him first._

**William: **I’m glad Florence is back safely… I heard some of the knights talking about the findings from the underground hideout. They didn’t find anything else of interest, but there are a lot of rumors flying around relating to the Faixnoye family now… I wonder what the emperor is hiding…

_Next, You walk up to Lev._

**Lev: **I can’t help but wonder about how Malice could be connected to Leicester… I heard all about it earlier on, but it still seems odd… In order to kill an important family like the Stomm’s, you’d need knowledge of the area or a lot of troops, and Malice didn’t seem to have the latter… Who could have done this…?

_The third person in the cathedral is Nesreen, and You walk up to her._

**Nesreen: **I found some interesting information while I was out looking around… I’m sure you already heard it all from Lady Aisa. The Stomm family was massacred… Malice has been around for so long, but it wasn’t until recently that they showed their faces enough for us to know what’s going on… I wonder why they chose now.

_The final person in the cathedral is Zelhira._

**Zelhira: **The Crest of Cethleann is only found in House Bazler… I don’t know what to make of that. I always knew my adopted father’s family had the Crest of Daphnel, but…

_You ask if she is related to Bazler._

**Zelhira: **I’m afraid I don’t know… I don’t know either of my birth parents… But I sure as hell hope not.

_You leave the cathedral and head upstairs to the second floor. You make for the library first, and inside, You encounter Herwig._

**Herwig: **I’ve been trying to do research to see if there’s any pattern surrounding where Malice has struck. By studying what they’ve done, we can see where they will be… I feel restless after not getting much done last month… I’m exhausted but restless at the same time. It’s an odd paradox.

_You head to the teachers’ rooms. You see Reese standing in the hallway next._

**Reese: **I’m glad to see that Herwig and Florence are doing alright… I guess Malice found them to be too valuable to harm horribly. Thank the goddess for that… They were beaten up enough when we arrived. I would hate to see how they looked if we had been much later.

_When You enter Jill’s room, You see Jill and Florence standing together._

**Jill: **Are you sure about this?

**Florence: **Positive. If I’ve really got a healing Crest, then I might as well put it to good use.

**Jill: **I’m not exactly that great with faith magic… Are you sure this is a good idea?

**Florence: **I’m sure. If this Crest has been dormant for so long, why not let it out at long last?

**Jill: **Well… If you’re positive, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.

_You leave Jill’s room and head to the cardinals’ room. Inside, You see Adrian standing alone._

**Adrian: **You have no idea how relieved I am to see that Professor Wessin is alright. I was so worried about him… Somehow I’m not surprised that he figured out Florence had a Crest before everyone else. He’s always been perceptive, easily able to detect Crests like that… I’m just glad to see it didn’t get him into too much trouble…

_You leave the cardinals’ room and head to see Aisa and Roy once again._

**Roy: **I take it you heard the story behind Malice’s involvement in Leicester, yes?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I’m glad to hear you’ve been given details on the matter… I’m sure they’ll prove useful in the coming month.

**Roy: **Did you hear about the former archduke of Leicester as well?

_You nod again._

**Roy: **Good… His case is rather mysterious, wouldn’t you say?

**Aisa: **But all suspicions will have to stay within these walls… We cannot let anybody use this information to do something awful.

**Roy: **Even if he is alive, there’s no real way of proving it…

**Aisa: **But enough about that. I hope you’ve had a nice day, Professor. Feel free to go on about your business.

**Seraphine: **Nope… I’m done. Let’s go to bed.

_You head back to your room, Seraphine walking at your side._

**Seraphine: **The archduke of the Alliance might be alive… How strange… Everybody assumed he died many years ago, but that might not be true… And on top of that, Malice has gotten involved in Leicester. There’s a lot more going on than one would expect… But there’s nothing we can do about it now. Goodnight, Professor.

_You lay down on your bed. There are many things to keep in mind, between Julius Origo, the Stomm family, and the assailants who went after Raithius and his brother. Your head is swirling with questions, but You find that You are more tired than expected. It doesn’t take You long to fall asleep, Seraphine following suit soon after. You cannot help but wonder what the coming month will bring, but You are not entirely sure if You want to know… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been working on Goddess Tower conversations as of late since I'm working my way up to chapter nine in my own typing (I'm actually finished with chapter seven and ready to start chapter eight as of this being released). It's the new last book in the series, or the fourth if you want specifics. I implore you to go and check it out. Hopefully, it'll be finished by the end of 2019. 
> 
> -Digital


	36. Chapter Six: Tainted Memories II (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You set out with the Golden Deer to stop Malice in another battle.

_The morning of the mission, You wake up and make your way to the Golden Deer homeroom. When You arrive, You see the students standing with Jill._

**Jill: **We’re heading to Leicester territory to figure out who has been attacking smaller territories… Though I feel like we already know exactly who is responsible.

**Novalee: **Given recent events, it doesn’t take a genius to determine…

**Adeline: **What are we even waiting for? Don’t we have other things to take care of?

**Cedric: **We have a friend joining us from here on out. We need her to get here before we can head to the Alliance.

**Lev: **That’s right… Kaeta is coming along with us.

**Sofia: **It’s so odd to think that a knight is actually allowed to do something for once… They’ve been so passive up to this point.

**William: **I’m sure the archbishop has her reasons for doing such.

**Wolfgang: **It looks like we’re finished waiting.

_The door opens as Kaeta walks in._

**Kaeta: **Greetings, students.

**Lev: **You don’t need to talk to us like we’re different… If you’re going to be fighting with us, make yourself at home.

**Kaeta: **Well, isn’t that a nice offer? I suppose I’ll just have to take you up on that.

**Adeline: **Welcome to the party, Kaeta. I hope you enjoy your time here.

**Sofia: **Wow… Aren’t you a strong one…?

**Kaeta: **You really think so…?

**Seraphine: **Looks like Sofia is going to be having a field day with this new friend…

**William: **Now that Kaeta is here, we have no reason to stick around here. Leicester awaits.

**Cedric: **I wonder what we’ll find out… Given what we spoke of at the start of the month, there’s a lot at stake here.

**Wolfgang: **Malice is going to pay for what they’ve done…

**Novalee: **I agree. However, they can’t pay until we head out, so let’s get going.

**Jill: **Novalee has a point. Come on. Let’s get ready to go.

_The students, Jill, and Kaeta leave the room, though Novalee and Raithius stay behind._

**Novalee: **You were awfully quiet that whole conversation.

**Raithius: **Was I? Sorry, Nova.

**Novalee: **You don’t need to apologize. I just wanted to check up on you.

**Raithius: **Thank you… Thanks. Yeah.

**Novalee: **Are you alright?

**Raithius: **That’s… Uh… Complicated.

**Novalee: **...Thinking about what was lost?

**Raithius: **Yeah… There’s the matter of what happened to the Stomm family first of all. After that, there’s the assassination attempt on my brother. Finally, I’m thinking about what happened to my father… There’s no proof that Malice is involved with that somehow, but it wouldn’t surprise me. If they’ve been trying to throw the rest of the continent into chaos, then who’s to say they wouldn’t try and do the same with the Alliance?

**Novalee: **Malice was responsible for the death of Franz Josefa, and a rebellion against Hendrix von Faixnoye was started earlier this year… It would only make sense if they were involved in the disappearance of Julius Origo as well. That’s what you’re thinking, yes?

**Raithius: **Look at you, always having me figured out… I just don’t know what to think. Why have they chosen now of all times to strike? What makes now such a special time?

**Novalee: **Faerghus has been in chaos without a formal ruler since Franz Josefa passed. Adrestia is struggling with a human trafficking ring on top of a power struggle among the nobility. Leicester’s ruler has disappeared, and a family heavily tied to the royals has died. It’s safe to say they’re taking advantage of the chaos.

**Raithius: **We can’t let this go on for much longer… If Malice is allowed to remain at large, things are only going to get worse.

**Novalee: **I agree with that completely. However, we have to act in order to find victory.

**Raithius: **Yeah… You’re right. You’re totally right. I can’t just let my thoughts about the past keep me from doing anything.

**Novalee: **Let’s get going then. It’s time to show Malice what we’re made of.

_Raithius and Novalee leave, the latter nodding to You briefly._

**Novalee: **Good day, Professor.

_Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Wow… Those two are really close. I mean, I always knew they shared a bond, but… Wow. She knows him like the back of her hand. I can’t help but wonder how they got to be so close… If I was a royal who needed a retainer, I know for sure that I’d turn to somebody like that… But enough about thinking of what could be. We have business to take care of.

_You walk out of the room with Seraphine._

_Over the next two or so hours, the group travels to Leicester territory. Upon arriving, the group stands on a trade road near the capital._

**Jill: **Here we are… This is where the last sign of Malice was.

**Raithius: **They should be here… Why aren’t they here?

**Novalee: **Be patient for a moment longer.

**Sofia: **Did you hear that?

**Cedric: **Look over there.

_A man appears from behind the nearby trees. His name is John._

**John: **Monastery brats… What are you doing here?

**Adeline: **I could ask you the same about why you’re in Leicester. Would you mind answering?

**Lev: **Perhaps it’s best if we don’t poke the bear that is our enemy…

**William: **Why are you here?

**John: **It’s strictly business. I’m sorry to say that it’s just how things have to be.

**Raithius: **How things have to be? Sounds to me like you’re making excuses.

**Wolfgang: **We’d like answers sooner rather than later.

**John: **That’s all you’re getting out of me.

**Raithius: **You won’t be getting away that easily!

**Kaeta: **What a little punk! Talk already, you little--

**Jill: **Kaeta!

**Kaeta: **What are we supposed to do about this guy though?! If he won’t give us the information that we need--

**Raithius: **We’ll just have to fight him until he decides to give it up. That’s just how it has to be.

**Novalee: **I agree with Raithius. If that’s our only option, then he brought that on himself.

**Kaeta: **Guys… Look around. It’s not just that guy that we’ll be up against.

_Other soldiers of Malice appear from behind the nearby trees, leaving You and the students surrounded._

**Seraphine: **Damn… They’re a lot better at hiding than I would have originally expected. I didn’t even realize they were around…

**Raithius: **You’re not going to be getting away with all you’ve done…

**John: **Me personally? I’m just following orders, kid. I get paid, and I do the work.

**Novalee: **I see… You’re a mercenary then.

**John: **I would have thought that to be obvious.

**Raithius: **I can’t believe you’d willingly do something like this…

**John: **Judge me all you want, but do it later.

**Jill: **Golden Deer! The time has come to fight!

_The battle begins. The Golden Deer fight against the Malice mercenaries, showing an increase in skill from the last time You saw them in action. Slowly, they break through the ring of enemy soldiers surrounding your group, and eventually, they break through the crowd to reach John._

_If You initiate combat with John, this dialogue plays out._

**John: **You look like the leader of this little gang… You’re here because the church told you to come, huh? Well, siding with the church is a poor choice on many levels. It’s just a matter of time until you figure it out. If you had any loyalty to Leicester, you’d be on my side… But you’ve shown what side you’re on, and I’ll have to kill you for it. So be it.

_If Raithius initiates combat with John, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **Your group was responsible for the deaths of the Stomm family, was it not?

**John: **How would I know something like that? You already figured out that I’m just a mercenary.

**Raithius: **You truly don’t know anything?

**John: **Well, I do know something, but it doesn’t have much to do with the Stomm murders.

**Raithius: **Out with it then!

**John: **Let’s just say that your family is much more involved with Malice than you realize.

**Raithius: **You… What do you--

**John: **I’m not providing any answers beyond that. In fact, what I’ve already told you was a bad idea to mention. Let’s just get this over with.

_If Novalee initiates combat with John, this dialogue plays out._

**Novalee: **Would you happen to know anything about what Malice has done in the past?

**John: **I’m afraid not. They paid me, so I sided with them. It’s really a simple situation.

**Novalee: **I find it questionable that a mercenary such as yourself would side with a group that has caused so much suffering in the past… You haven’t done much research, have you?

**John: **Kind of hard to research a group of assassins.

**Novalee: **Regardless of my personal reservations with you, it’s time for us to end this. If you know nothing, there is no point for us to let you remain… This isn’t personal. Try not to take it that way.

_If anybody else initiates combat with John, this dialogue plays out._

**John: **Officers Academy brats… The real world is a lot crueler than you realize, and I’ll have to show it to you here today!

_When John is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**John: **Damn children… Overstepping your boundaries…

_After the battle, John is lying dead in the grass. The Golden Deer, Jill, and Kaeta stand alongside You around his body._

**Kaeta: **We didn’t learn anything…

**Raithius: **I would disagree… We now know for sure that Malice is found within Leicester. Before, it was debatable as to if they appear in modern times, but this shows us loud and clear.

**Kaeta: **But that’s all we know. This guy was just a mercenary, so he couldn’t tell us any company secrets. This sucks!

**Novalee: **Even if this line of reasoning has stopped dead in its tracks, I would like to point something out to everyone.

**Wolfgang: **You’re talking about the remaining soldiers, aren’t you?

**Novalee: **I am.

**William: **They’re all heading in the same direction…

**Lev: **It’s almost like they were told to head a given way when retreating.

**Cedric: **That direction… It’s Columbus territory.

**Sofia: **He was involved with Bazler’s business, wasn’t he?

**Raithius: **He was… Columbus territory is the home of the Canis Mafia. They’re dangerous as can be.

**William: **If Bazler and Columbus are involved, and Bazler was tied in with Malice…

**Sofia: **It’s safe to assume Columbus is involved with Malice.

**Lev: **That would bring the mafia into things as well…

**Jill: **I think it’s safe to say Columbus is going to be involved with our next mission.

**Cedric: **We’ve learned very few things, but what we do know is very valuable information to pass along.

**Kaeta: **I’m just glad you guys noticed what direction the soldiers were fleeing in. That was an important detail I didn’t notice.

**Jill: **It’s important to examine all details. That’s a vital part of being a knight.

**Raithius: **Let’s go back to the monastery. Lady Aisa will need to hear about this.

**Jill: **I agree. There’s no reason to stay here. There are no clues to check out here.

_The students start to walk away with Kaeta and Jill, but Raithius and Novalee remain a while longer._

**Raithius: **I can’t believe we didn’t find anything…

**Novalee: **I’m sorry, Raithius. I wish there was something I could do.

**Raithius: **It’s fine… I just promised that I would find the truth at her funeral… I was hoping today would be the day I could finally fulfill that promise.

**Novalee: **Even if you couldn’t find it out today, I’m sure you will. I’ll follow you until the ends of the Earth… And that includes finding the truth behind the murder.

**Raithius: **Thank you, Novalee… I don’t know what I’d do without you.

**Novalee: **We should catch up with the others. We can’t have them getting away.

**Raithius: **You’re right. Let’s go.

_Seraphine appears as the pair walks away._

**Seraphine: **It seems he’s a lot deeper than I originally expected… Hm. I guess the world can surprise you. Still, it’s a shame we didn’t find much out today… Here’s to hoping next month will be better.

_When You arrive back at the monastery, You go to visit Aisa and Roy in their primary room of the monastery._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor. I’m glad to see you back safe and sound.

**Roy: **Did you find anything out?

_You say that You did not find much._

**Aisa: **That’s a shame…

**Roy: **You said much. You must have found something.

_You explain that You found out for sure that Malice is found in Leicester._

**Aisa: **It appears our suspicions have been confirmed… How tragic.

**Roy: **All we can do about it now is use this information to our advantage.

**Aisa: **Did you learn of anything else?

_You say that the surviving soldiers fled to Columbus territory after the battle._

**Roy: **That shows that he’s involved, just as we suspected… He and Bazler are close, and Bazler is in Malice. The proof is right there.

**Aisa: **I am unsure as to where we will go from here… This line of investigation seems to have stopped dead in its tracks.

**Roy: **Thank you for telling us all of this, Professor. You should head back to the students. I’m sure they’re wondering where you’ve gotten off to.

_You head back to the classroom._

**Seraphine: **Columbus will finally get investigated, hopefully next month… It’s about time. We’ve been waiting long enough to figure it out.

_You arrive in the classroom and see the students standing with Jill._

**Jill: **There really isn’t much to talk about this time… Not much really happened.

**Raithius: **It truly is unfortunate…

**Wolfgang: **Still, we learned some important information. We can’t let ourselves forget about that.

**Lev: **Columbus is doing something suspicious… I just wish we knew what.

**Kaeta: **Somehow, I get the feeling we’ll all be finding out soon enough.

**Novalee: **I must agree… Columbus territory has never been a nice place. This only adds more evidence to the list about how risky it is to be there.

**Sofia: **I’ve never been there, but I have heard about the horrors of House Columbus… I don’t even know if I want to go there, whether it’s next month or not.

**Cedric: **I have heard nothing but unsavory rumors about it.

**Adeline: **I live near the border of the territory… Never go there without protection. Even then, don’t go there.

**William: **That doesn’t paint a nice picture in my head…

**Kaeta: **Perhaps we should stop talking about it so that we’ll all be able to sleep tonight… Speaking of, I guess that’s all we have to do for tonight.

**Raithius: **Yeah. You’re probably right. I’m going to turn in early. I have a lot to think about.

**Novalee: **I’ll come with you.

**Adeline: **I still can’t believe how little we found out…

**Cedric: **Nothing we can do about it now. All we can do is get ready for next time we’re ready to go at them.

**William: **Cedric has a point.

**Lev: **We have a lot of training on our hands.

**Sofia: **That can wait until tomorrow. Night.

**Jill: **Class dismissed. Goodnight, everyone.

_The students leave the classroom behind alongside Jill to go their separate ways, but Kaeta taps You on the shoulder._

**Kaeta: **Professor, I want to ask you something… Could I stay with you from here on out? I know you’re wandering from class to class to help out as you wish, but I want to stay with you. I’m still not an official student, but I’m not an official knight yet either. I need some training and experience in the field, which I’m not getting in my current position. I’ve seen you in action, and I think I could learn a lot from you. So? What do you say?

_You tell Kaeta You would be happy to have her._

**Kaeta: **Awesome! Thank you so much, Professor! You won’t regret this!

_Kaeta dashes away happily._

**Seraphine: **She sure seems excited… I bet we’re going to have a lot of fun with her in the future… But we can’t have fun now given how late it is. Let’s head back to our room.

_You go to your bedroom alongside Seraphine._

**Seraphine: **We didn’t learn too much today, but I guess we can’t do anything about it now. All we really can do is wait and hope we can storm right through to Columbus territory sooner rather than later. That will be a battle to remember given how many people got away after that last fight. Plus, we need to deal with the area generally being unsavory, and as far as I can tell, there’s a mafia involved too. On top of that, we might have people who suffered from collateral damage under Bazler’s influence… There’s a lot to keep in mind for when we do get through to Columbus territory.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **I really don’t know what to think about all that’s been happening. It’s just… A lot happening all at once, you know? There’s nothing either one of us can do to change it, but I wish we could get some peace. It’s hard to get used to your new teaching job when everything feels like it’s in chaos all the time. Maybe I’m annoyed. I don’t know. There’s just a lot going on, and I guess I’m starting to get overwhelmed.

_You propose that going to sleep might help her._

**Seraphine: **You’re right… We both need some rest after today. Well, let’s get to sleep. Goodnight, Professor.

_You fall asleep soon after, unsure of where your quest will take You next. This uncertain note isn’t a good way to end the month in your opinion, but there is nothing to be done about it. You rest uneasily, but sleep still comes faster than it has in past months. You hope silently that You will find more answers in the coming months, though You are unsure as to if this will come true. If it doesn’t, You do not know what You will do… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We love chapter six
> 
> Also sweet tarts??? Slap
> 
> -Digital


	37. Chapter Six: Tainted Memories I (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You learn about the bloody history of the Alliance royalty's relations.

_When the next month, the Horsebow Moon, begins, You wake up and head towards the room where Aisa and Roy usually are. Seraphine speaks to You as You walk._

**Seraphine: **I can’t help but wonder what we’ll be up to this time around… Maybe we’ll have to do something involving Columbus territory since the lord there is supposedly involved with Bazler. Maybe it’s time for us to track down Bazler since Florence and Herwig have been found. Maybe we’re finally going to find the people who knocked us out the day we recovered that memory of the past… I’m sick of waiting around for something like that to happen. Can’t we just hear the truth already.

_You cannot help but agree with Seraphine about being tired of waiting without seeing many results. However, You know that You do not get to decide the mission, so You approach Aisa and Roy to ask for what they want You to do._

**Aisa: **It’s good to see you, Professor. It’s time for us to give you the next month’s mission.

**Roy: **We were going to send you to Columbus territory to investigate the lord’s involvement with Lord Bazler, but we need more time to gather information. For right now, we want you to do something else within Leicester territory.

**Seraphine: **Great. Another month where we don’t get any answers. This is starting to get a wee bit frustrating. Can’t we catch a break every once in a while?

**Aisa: **We have reason to believe that Malice has appeared in Leicester, something that has happened before…

**Roy: **Malice has committed two major crimes in Leicester as far as we are aware, though both of them were ultimately swept under the rug. The first had the younger of the two sons in the Alliance being attacked and nearly killed. This caused Leicester to go on high alert to try and find the culprits, but nobody was ever officially revealed to be the culprit.

**Aisa: **However, since they were dressed in black, it seems clear as day to me that they were involved with Malice… However, this wasn’t the only time they appeared before the Alliance territory.

**Roy: **The second time, an important family in Leicester was targeted. It was the family of the military leader in the Alliance. Each member of the family was killed, found dead in their house. The culprit was never found, but there were a few scraps of fabric left behind that seemed to have distorted Crest emblems carved into them.

**Seraphine: **Why are we just now hearing about this?

_You ask why Aisa and Roy never brought this up sooner._

**Aisa: **We weren’t sure if it was true or not… We needed some extra time to confirm our suspicions.

**Roy: **Not much information was released about either attack, meaning we had to go back to square one to investigate the incidents.

**Seraphine: **Why would it be pushed under the rug like that…? That certainly seems odd, if you ask me.

**Aisa: **Regardless of how long it took us to come to this conclusion, the fact remains that you’ll be following one of the three houses to victory this coming month. Hopefully, you’ll be able to gather information about Malice involvement in the Alliance, and if you can find important details, we’ll be able to press on and perhaps find the people behind this.

**Roy: **I’m afraid we’re struggling to tie up loose ends with Malice in other nations at the moment. There hasn’t been enough for us to go off to find Marcus from Faerghus or Bazler from Adrestia, leaving us in a bit of a tight spot.

**Seraphine: **So, in other words, we get this, or we have to deal with just going at it without help… Damn.

**Aisa: **So, Professor… What will it be?

_You think it over briefly before deciding to follow the Black Eagles for the coming month._

**Roy: **Black Eagles it is?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **In that case, perhaps it’s time for you to go and discuss the coming month with your class.

**Roy: **I’m sure they’re waiting for you.

_You thank them for the update and start to head towards the classroom._

**Seraphine: **So, it looks like all we can do at this point is hope that something comes up while we’re out in Leicester trying to find an answer… It’s been a month since we’ve had any memories awakened again. Maybe we’ll be lucky and see something that we haven’t before. I’m sick of just knowing one thing about our past. We just know that we went to that one village when we were younger alongside Evenor… Who the hell is she, anyways? How is she related to us? Will we ever find an answer?

_You enter the Black Eagles classroom and see the students standing with Herwig._

**Herwig:** Good morning, Professor. I’m glad to see you. You came at the perfect time. We were talking about the plan for the next month.

**Chris:** I was about to share what I know about Malice’s previous appearances in Leicester… Even if it isn’t much…

**Polly: **Somehow, I’m not surprised Leicester is tied into this as well… Aderstia and Faerghus are tied into it, so Leicester had to be.

**Callisto: **It sounds like this is going to take a while to explain, so I’m going to try and relax.

**Chris: **Malice first appeared not long after the death of Cynthia Origo. She was the archduke’s wife. She died due to her grief as a result of her husband mysteriously disappearing. To this day, he has never been found.

**Zelhira: **I always heard that the archduke had passed away…

**Chris: **No corpse was ever found… I’m not going to tell you how to feel about that, but some people believe he’s still alive.

**Aquillus: **Hm… Regardless of if it’s true, we should remember that.

**Chris: **Anyways, some assassins forced their way into the palace. They went after Raithius’ younger brother, but they were fought off in the end. They ran away and haven’t been seen in Leicester since…

**Florence: **He’s here at the Officers Academy, so he must have turned out okay.

**Chris:** ISome guards came to see what was going on, and it was because of them that the attackers were fought off. They haven’t been seen since then… Well, I use that phrase loosely. They were seen, but not by people who were able to say what they saw.

**Zelhira:** Come to think of it, I remember hearing of this.

**Tuncay: **Go on. Tell us.

**Zelhira:** The leading general of the Leicester was killed alongside his family. Their deaths were beyond violent and bloody. Some fabric was left behind with a distorted Crest sewn into it. Nobody knew what it meant until recently.

**Tuncay: **They’ve been active longer than anticipated then.

**Chris:** I don’t have confirmation on this next piece, but some think the daughter of the family was set to marry Raithius in an arranged marriage. The family never had a Crest, but they were still influential due to their military connections. Raithius hasn’t ever mentioned it either…

**Aquillus:** What could have caused them all to die so suddenly…?

**Polly: **There’s a running theory that this happened because of their close ties to the royal family, but nobody knows for sure.

**Callisto: **How annoying…

**Chris: **Since Malice wasn’t revealed to exist up until a short time ago, the investigation didn’t bear much fruit since the evidence didn’t make sense.

**Florence: **It seems like we only have more to do the longer we wait…

**Herwig: **All we can do for now is wait. All that we’ve heard up to this point hasn’t been proven by conclusive evidence. Instead, it’s merely speculation, especially with the latter incident. For now, let’s try and improve our skills before the next encounter.

**Aquillus: **Let’s just try to act normal for the rest of the month.

**Tuncay: **I wish we had a plan… That might keep us from dying in the future.

**Polly: **Rest is our best option at the moment. We need to train, but we can’t go too far without hurting our productivity in the long run.

**Chris: **Um… Is that all you wanted, Professor?

**Herwig: **Yes, it is. Enjoy the rest of your day, everyone.

_The students leave the classroom with Herwig. Before You can leave, Raithius and Novalee approach You._

**Raithius: **Professor, can we talk to you?

_You nod._

**Novalee: **We have a few suspicions surrounding Malice, to say the least.

**Raithius: **Yeah… I’m sure you heard about my father already. We thought that he died because he was missing for a few years.

**Novalee: **Julius Origo… He went missing less than two years after your younger brother was born, Raithius.

**Raithius: **Yeah. He supposedly went out on a mission with the military leader of the Alliance, Louis Stomm. The Stomm family has been leading the military of Leicester for generations, and they’re often seen as the closest advisors to the Origo line.

**Novalee: **Of course, that all changed when the Stomm’s were killed less than three years ago…

**Raithius: **I was going to marry the sole child of the Stomm family’s leader, Ara. However, she was killed alongside her parents, aunt, uncle, and cousins in a bloody massacre.

**Novalee: **The family was wiped off the map so quickly…

**Raithius: **I can’t think of anybody off the top of my head who would bear ill will towards them…

**Novalee: **But let’s get back on track. Your father is what we were discussing.

**Raithius: **Oh, right, right… My father went missing a long time ago, and he was pronounced dead despite no body ever being found.

**Novalee: **There’s no proof to show that he’s dead, but nothing can show if he’s alive either.

**Raithius: **The mission where he went missing is as mysterious as it gets. As soon as it happened, all information surrounding it was eliminated. Any paperwork about it was burned. The people he was set to fight are a mystery too.

**Novalee: **The only people who would be aware of such a fact would be Cynthia Origo, Julius’ wife, or Louis Stomm, but they’re both dead…

**Raithius: **I’m not trying to bombard you with a conspiracy or anything, Professor… Just something to keep in mind.

**Novalee: **If you have any other questions, feel free to come to us and ask.

**Raithius: **Yeah, what she said…

**Seraphine: **I guess when the Stomm family fell, Novalee stepped up to take the position that a Stomm family member would regularly hold…

**Novalee: **Thank you again for listening to us, Professor.

**Raithius: **Yeah, it means a lot… That’s it from us. See you around, Professor.

_Raithius and Novalee walk out of the classroom._

**Seraphine: **Hm… Well, I guess all that we can do at this point is explore the monastery. There’s no solid evidence of anything they said… It’s just speculation right now, and there’s no point getting that deep into it as far as I’m aware… Off we go, Professor.

_You nod your agreement and start to explore the monastery. The first person You see in the courtyard of the Officers Academy is Nora._

**Nora: **Leicester territory, huh… I was thinking that the place had to be involved with Malice somehow, but there’s nothing concrete yet as far as I can tell. Here’s hoping that we can pull something off. I’m sick of not learning much of anything each month.

_The next person in the courtyard is Cedric, and You approach him next._

**Cedric: **Leicester… I grew up surrounded by nobles there, you know. Even if they weren’t officially nobles, the Stomm family was rather close with mine. I always knew they died under mysterious circumstances, but I didn’t realize it went this far… Malice is going to pay for what they did. That’s a promise.

_The final person in the courtyard is Callisto, and You walk up to her._

**Callisto: **I’m so glad that we found Florence, but now we’re being launched into yet another mission… Does it ever end? I wonder if the previous school years have been this messy… Malice obviously indicates that we’re on the verge of something big, but I don’t know what it could be… 

_After leaving the Officers Academy, You head to the training hall. Inside, You see Kaeta soon after entering._

**Kaeta: **Guess what, Professor? I’m going to be joining you on this mission! I’ve had enough of sitting around and doing nothing, so I asked Captain Torryn about it. She went to the archbishop, and Lady Aisa thinks I could benefit from learning under you. Thank goodness… I’m raring to go already.

_Also inside the training hall is Piers, and You walk up to him._

**Piers: **Malice here, Malice there, Malice everywhere… First it was Adrestia when that scholar got attacked, then it was Faerghus with the killers of the previous king, and finally it, it’s Leicester now with assassins that killed a noble family… Just how many of these enemies are there? And where could they have come from?

_You leave the training hall to head to the bottom floor of dorms. Inside one of the dorms is Hegias, and You knock on his door._

**Hegias: **Who is it…?

_You tell him it’s You._

**Hegias: **Ah, hello, Professor…

_You ask if he is alright._

**Hegias: **Oh, I’m fine… Just… Doing a few things on my own. Don’t worry about it. There’s nothing to worry about here.

**Seraphine: **Okay… He’s fine, and I’m perfectly real… But I doubt we’ll be able to get much out of him now… I guess we can just leave him be for now.

_Further down the row of dorms, You see Karim standing alone._

**Karim: **So much is happening this year… Malice’s influence appears to be really widespread but I don’t know what to do about it. I just… Damn it! Why is all of this happening so suddenly? Is there something about this year that makes it so special as opposed to previous years? Why are we the ones getting attacked?

_You tell him that You do not know._

**Karim: **I know… It’s just frustrating, I guess.

_At the edge of the row of dorms, You encounter Wolfgang._

**Wolfgang: **If the previous archduke of the Alliance was taken hostage… I wonder if it could be related to… Ah, Professor!

_You ask her what she was talking about._

**Wolfgang: **It’s nothing. Forget I said anything, actually. That would be best for all of us, if you ask me.

**Seraphine: **She seems pretty firm on not talking to us… Fine. If that’s how she wants to be, then fine. It’s her choice.

_You head upstairs to the second floor of dorms. You don’t see anyone in the hallway, but the farthest dorm in the row has a person in it: Chris. You knock lightly and tell her it’s You._

**Chris: **H-Hello, Professor. You’ll have to forgive my less than optimal state at the moment… I just need some time to myself. I’m writing a letter to my father after what happened… Is that alright?

_You tell her yes._

**Chris: **Thank you again, Professor… I’ll see you later.

**Seraphine: **Of course it has to do with the emperor… Even when he’s not here, he makes me want to punch something.

_You leave the second floor of dorms to enter the greenhouse. Inside, You see Sofia talking to Adeline._

**Sofia: **You seem to be pretty knowledgeable about nobility in Leicester, Adeline.

**Adeline: **I suppose you could say that… Why do you ask?

**Sofia: **Ah… Um… Do you know anything about one Conrad von Ruden…?

**Adeline: **Um… Last I heard, he was growing up well under his father… Are you two related or something?

**Sofia: **I… No. It’s complicated. Forget I said anything.

**Adeline: **If you insist…

_Sensing the heaviness behind their conversation, You leave the greenhouse to go to the fishing hole. Once there, You see Kyle and Aestlyn talking._

**Kyle: **Aren’t you a beautiful one, Aestlyn?

**Aestlyn: **Kyle, where is all of this coming from?

**Kyle: **I got some advice recently to be open with the people I care about, so… I’m going to tell you exactly how I feel.

**Aestlyn: **Well… Isn’t this a very nice thing for a friend to say to another?

**Kyle: **…

**Aestlyn: **Kyle? What is that look of shock about?

**Kyle: **Nothing…

**Aestlyn: **If you insist…

_You leave the fishing hole to head to the market. Once there, You encounter Cordelia standing alone._

**Cordelia: **A lot has been happening recently with Malice… I had to do some real protesting in order to get Kaeta a place working under you in the future. Lady Aisa seems to want all the knights prepared for an attack on the monastery… I just hope the danger of Malice never goes that far.

_You leave the market and head to the entrance hall. You see many people scattered about inside, but the first one You encounter is Tuncay._

**Tuncay: **With all of this chaos, I’ve barely had any time to forge weapons… It’s frustrating, but what can you do? I wish Malice would just roll over and quit these shenanigans already. We’re getting sick of it fast.

_You walk away from Tuncay, and You approach a pair of people standing nearby: Yuliya and Rodain._

**Rodain: **Yuliya, you have a Crest, do you not?

**Yuliya: **Yeah. What about it?

**Rodain: **Oh, nothing… I just didn’t know before. Why don’t you tell people that?

**Yuliya: **It does nothing but bring me trouble from entitled piles of garbage.

**Rodain: **Your Crest does that?

**Yuliya: **I know what I said. Are we done here?

**Rodain: **I suppose so… Sorry for bothering you.

**Yuliya: **Don’t worry about it…

_The next pair You encounter in the entrance hall is Raithius and Novalee._

**Raithius: **Father… I never knew him all that well, but I’m sure you already figured that much out.

**Novalee: **Yeah… I could guess.

**Raithius: **I can’t help but wonder… Was Malice involved in his disappearance?

**Novalee: **It wouldn’t surprise me… Professor. Hello.

**Raithius: **Forgive our mindless rambling, Professor. We were just finishing up.

**Novalee: **Yes… Pardon us.

**Seraphine: **I guess they don’t want anybody listening in on them… Hm. How strange.

_You head into the reception hall next. There are two people there once You arrive, the first of them being Wynne._

**Wynne: **There’s been so much happening lately… And yet, nothing is happening at the same time. How long can Lady Aisa keep us holed up like this when there’s danger out there? Malice is running rampant, but we knights haven’t been able to do anything… Sometimes, I really don’t understand her.

_The second person in the reception hall, Polly, is the next one You speak with._

**Polly: **I still can’t stop thinking about what happened last month with the mages from Malice… They were hiding under the monastery all along thanks to their powerful warp magic. They got away with it almost too easily, if you ask me. They must have really known their stuff to get by without being detected for all that time.

_After leaving the reception hall, You head to the knights’ hall. Inside, You encounter Derric and Niko, who are talking to one another._

**Niko: **Derric, do you… Do you think I’ll have to learn more about fighting soon?

**Derric: **Where is this coming from…?

**Niko: **I think you know… Things are so dangerous all of a sudden. If something happens here at the monastery, I’ll need to know how to defend myself.

**Derric: **As… As much as I hate to say it, I think that might be a good idea.

**Niko: **Will you help me learn?

**Derric: **… If you think it would be for the best…

_Also standing in the knights’ hall is Cassia, and You approach her next._

**Cassia: **I’m planning on becoming a knight after this school year ends, you know… With all that has been happening, I’m sure they’ll have a place for me… Of course, I can’t just ask about it… I don’t know what to do, honestly… Oh, well. I’m sure I can figure it out later.

_You decide to leave the knights’ hall to go to the stables. Inside, You see three people. The first of them is Miriam, who You approach first._

**Miriam: **I truly am happy that Florence is back after last month… Her mount is much happier with her around. I was happy to care for Faith in her absence, but… Her pegasus needs her more than anything else… The bond between steed and rider truly is a special one.

_The second person in the stables is Aquillus, and You walk up to him next._

**Aquillus: **Even if it’s been a while since we saw him, I can’t stop thinking about Bazler… He committed so many unspeakably horrible crimes but got away with it because the emperor owed him a debt… What could they have possibly been connected by? I do hope it had nothing to do with Bazler’s business, but knowing the emperor, it wouldn’t surprise me…

_The final person is Falon, and You walk up to her._

**Falon: **I can’t help but wonder about what happened when we ran into the killers of the previous king… I don’t know why people from Faerghus would want him dead. Franz Josefa was known for his crimes against Albinea, but it was a war most Faerghus people supported… I feel like there’s more than meets the eye as far as his death is concerned…

_You head to the bridge leading over to the cathedral, and standing on the bridge are Magnolia and Illona._

**Magnolia: **Illona, would you care to tell me why I heard some priests talking about an odd girl with lilac hair talking about how she frequently hid arrows in trees to use when she spied on ‘invasive geese’?

**Illona: **Where did you hear that…?

**Magnolia: **You wouldn’t happen to be hiding arrows in trees, would you? And if so, how do you use them to spy on invasive geese?

**Illona: **Everybody knows there are no geese around here…

**Magnolia: **No, there aren’t geese around here…

**Illona: **Maybe they were owls instead…

**Magnolia: **Perhaps…

**Illona: **Well, I’m off to write a letter to my orange-haired knight in shining armor!

**Magnolia: **I swear, not even the goddess herself could still that tongue of yours…

_When You arrive in the cathedral, You see four people. The first of them is William, and You walk up to him first._

**William: **I’m glad Florence is back safely… I heard some of the knights talking about the findings from the underground hideout. They didn’t find anything else of interest, but there are a lot of rumors flying around relating to the Faixnoye family now… I wonder what the emperor is hiding…

_Next, You walk up to Lev._

**Lev: **I can’t help but wonder about how Malice could be connected to Leicester… I heard all about it earlier on, but it still seems odd… In order to kill an important family like the Stomm’s, you’d need knowledge of the area or a lot of troops, and Malice didn’t seem to have the latter… Who could have done this…?

_The third person in the cathedral is Nesreen, and You walk up to her._

**Nesreen: **I found some interesting information while I was out looking around… I’m sure you already heard it all from Lady Aisa. The Stomm family was massacred… Malice has been around for so long, but it wasn’t until recently that they showed their faces enough for us to know what’s going on… I wonder why they chose now.

_The final person in the cathedral is Zelhira._

**Zelhira: **The Crest of Cethleann is only found in House Bazler… I don’t know what to make of that. I always knew my adopted father’s family had the Crest of Daphnel, but…

_You ask if she is related to Bazler._

**Zelhira: **I’m afraid I don’t know… I don’t know either of my birth parents… But I sure as hell hope not.

_You leave the cathedral and head upstairs to the second floor. You make for the library first, and inside, You encounter Herwig._

**Herwig: **I’ve been trying to do research to see if there’s any pattern surrounding where Malice has struck. By studying what they’ve done, we can see where they will be… I feel restless after not getting much done last month… I’m exhausted but restless at the same time. It’s an odd paradox.

_You head to the teachers’ rooms. You see Reese standing in the hallway next._

**Reese: **I’m glad to see that Herwig and Florence are doing alright… I guess Malice found them to be too valuable to harm horribly. Thank the goddess for that… They were beaten up enough when we arrived. I would hate to see how they looked if we had been much later.

_When You enter Jill’s room, You see Jill and Florence standing together._

**Jill: **Are you sure about this?

**Florence: **Positive. If I’ve really got a healing Crest, then I might as well put it to good use.

**Jill: **I’m not exactly that great with faith magic… Are you sure this is a good idea?

**Florence: **I’m sure. If this Crest has been dormant for so long, why not let it out at long last?

**Jill: **Well… If you’re positive, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.

_You leave Jill’s room and head to the cardinals’ room. Inside, You see Adrian standing alone._

**Adrian: **You have no idea how relieved I am to see that Professor Wessin is alright. I was so worried about him… Somehow I’m not surprised that he figured out Florence had a Crest before everyone else. He’s always been perceptive, easily able to detect Crests like that… I’m just glad to see it didn’t get him into too much trouble…

_You leave the cardinals’ room and head to see Aisa and Roy once again._

**Roy: **I take it you heard the story behind Malice’s involvement in Leicester, yes?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I’m glad to hear you’ve been given details on the matter… I’m sure they’ll prove useful in the coming month.

**Roy: **Did you hear about the former archduke of Leicester as well?

_You nod again._

**Roy: **Good… His case is rather mysterious, wouldn’t you say?

**Aisa: **But all suspicions will have to stay within these walls… We cannot let anybody use this information to do something awful.

**Roy: **Even if he is alive, there’s no real way of proving it…

**Aisa: **But enough about that. I hope you’ve had a nice day, Professor. Feel free to go on about your business.

**Seraphine: **Nope… I’m done. Let’s go to bed.

_You head back to your room, Seraphine walking at your side._

**Seraphine: **The archduke of the Alliance might be alive… How strange… Everybody assumed he died many years ago, but that might not be true… And on top of that, Malice has gotten involved in Leicester. There’s a lot more going on than one would expect… But there’s nothing we can do about it now. Goodnight, Professor.

_You lay down on your bed. There are many things to keep in mind, between Julius Origo, the Stomm family, and the assailants who went after Raithius and his brother. Your head is swirling with questions, but You find that You are more tired than expected. It doesn’t take You long to fall asleep, Seraphine following suit soon after. You cannot help but wonder what the coming month will bring, but You are not entirely sure if You want to know… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOD THIS CHAPTER IS LATE AND I AM SORRY
> 
> WELL NOT REALLY I'VE SPENT THE PAST FOUR DAYS HANGING OUT WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND HAVING A GREAT TIME
> 
> SPEAKING OF HAPPY 2020 BABES
> 
> -Digital


	38. Chapter Six: Tainted Memories II (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You set out with the Black Eagles to stop Malice in another battle.

_The morning of the mission, You wake up and make your way to the Black Eagles homeroom. When You arrive, You see the students standing with Herwig._

**Herwig: **Well, we’re ready to investigate what’s been happening in Leicester… Though something tells me we’re all fully aware of what’s going on.

**Polly: **It doesn’t take a genius to determine.

**Zelhira: **There’s no reason to wait here. We have to get going.

**Tuncay: **From what I’ve heard, we’re going to be joined by a knight, but we need to make sure she’s here before leaving.

**Chris:** That’s right… Kaeta is joining us.

**Aquillus: **Isn’t it strange to think that we’re finally getting help with a knight? And after such a long stretch of inactivity…

**Hegias: **The archbishop has her reasons, I’m sure.

**Callisto: **I can’t help but ask why that is…

**Florence:** There’s our friend now.

_The door opens as Kaeta walks in._

**Kaeta: **Greetings, students.

**Chris:** You don’t need to be so serious with us, Kaeta. We’re all equals here, so you can keep the formalities minimal.

**Kaeta: **Well, isn’t that a nice offer? I suppose I’ll just have to take you up on that.

**Callisto: **Welcome to the group, Kaeta.

**Florence: **Well, aren’t you a strong one…? I’m impressed.

**Kaeta: **Why, thank you! You’re a sweet one.

**Seraphine: **Looks like Florence is going to be having a field day with this new friend…

**Polly: **With Kaeta here, we’ve got no reason to stay here. Let’s go.

**Aquillus:** There are many questions I have… I want answers this month.

**Zelhira: **I’m sure you’ll figure something out.

**Tuncay: **Malice won’t be escaping this time.

**Hegias: **Let’s get down to business.

**Herwig: **Hegias has a point. Let’s go.

_The students, Herwig, and Kaeta leave the room. You follow them._

_Over the next two or so hours, the group travels to Leicester territory. Upon arriving, the group stands on a trade road near the capital._

**Herwig:** This is the general area Malice was last seen in.

**Chris: **I thought somebody would be here…

**Polly:** All we need is patience.

**Florence: **I just heard something.

**Hegias: **Look over there!

_A man appears from behind the nearby trees. His name is John._

**John: **Monastery brats… What are you doing here?

**Aquillus:** I could ask you the same thing. Out with it.

**Zelhira: **Don’t make the enemy mad on purpose…!

**Callisto: **Why are you here?

**John: **It’s strictly business. I’m sorry to say that it’s just how things have to be.

**Tuncay: **What are you talking about?

**Chris: **Give us an answer, if you don’t mind.

**John: **That’s all you’re getting out of me.

**Chris: **Well, aren’t we stubborn…?

**Kaeta: **What a little punk! Talk already, you little--

**Herwig: **Kaeta, stop!

**Kaeta: **What are we supposed to do about this guy though?! If he won’t give us the information that we need--

**Chris: **We can show him what we’re made of. If we need to do it to get the information we need…

**Polly: **I agree with Chris.

**Kaeta: **Guys… Look around. It’s not just that guy that we’ll be up against.

_Other soldiers of Malice appear from behind the nearby trees, leaving You and the students surrounded._

**Seraphine: **Damn… They’re a lot better at hiding than I would have originally expected. I didn’t even realize they were around…

**Chris: **You’re not going to escape us today.

**John: **Me personally? I’m just following orders, kid. I get paid, and I do the work.

**Polly: **You’re a mercenary, aren’t you?

**John: **I would have thought that to be obvious.

**Chris: **You joined them of your own free will? Monstrous…

**John: **Judge me all you want, but do it later.

**Black Eagles: **Black Eagles! It’s time to fight!

_The battle begins. The Black Eagles fight against the Malice mercenaries, showing an increase in skill from the last time You saw them in action. Slowly, they break through the ring of enemy soldiers surrounding your group, and eventually, they break through the crowd to reach John._

_If You initiate combat with John, this dialogue plays out._

**John: **You look like the leader of this little gang… You’re here because the church told you to come, huh? Well, siding with the church is a poor choice on many levels. It’s just a matter of time until you figure it out. If you had any loyalty to Leicester, you’d be on my side… But you’ve shown what side you’re on, and I’ll have to kill you for it. So be it.

_If Chris initiates combat with John, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **Malice… You had something to do with the Stomm family murders.

**John: **How would I know something like that? You already figured out that I’m just a mercenary.

**Chris: **You can’t be serious…

**John: **Well, I do know something, but it doesn’t have much to do with the Stomm murders.

**Chris: **Go on…

**John: **Let’s just say that the archduke’s family is much more involved with Malice than you realize.

**Chris: **What is that supposed to mean…?

**John: **I’m not providing any answers beyond that. In fact, what I’ve already told you was a bad idea to mention. Let’s just get this over with.

_If Polly initiates combat with John, this dialogue plays out._

**Polly:** Do you know Malice’s past?

**John: **I’m afraid not. They paid me, so I sided with them. It’s really a simple situation.

**Polly: **You do mercenary work. You decided to take this job of your own free will. Did you do any investigating beforehand?

**John: **Kind of hard to research a group of assassins.

**Polly:** My apologies in advance. I’m going to put my biases aside for now and end this. If you’ve got nothing to say to me, then fine. This is just how it has to be. Sorry about this.

_If anybody else initiates combat with John, this dialogue plays out._

**John: **Officers Academy brats… The real world is a lot crueler than you realize, and I’ll have to show it to you here today!

_When John is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**John: **Damn children… Overstepping your boundaries…

_After the battle, John is lying dead in the grass. The Black Eagles, Heriwg, and Kaeta stand alongside You around his body._

**Kaeta: **We didn’t learn anything…

**Chris: **We have confirmation that Malice is in Leicester at the very least… It wasn’t for sure before, but now… We’re positive.

**Kaeta: **But that’s all we know. This guy was just a mercenary, so he couldn’t tell us any company secrets. This sucks!

**Polly: **Even if we didn’t learn much from that mercenary, I noticed something else as the soldiers were running away.

**Florence: **What about them?

**Polly: **Look where they’re going.

**Hegias: **They’re all headed in the same direction.

**Zelhira:** If I had to guess, they were told to retreat in a specific direction.

**Aquillus: **That’s the direction of Columbus…

**Callisto: **Wasn’t he one of Bazler’s accomplices?

**Chris: **Columbus territory is where the Canis Mafia resides. They’re one of the most dangerous groups on the continent.

**Tuncay: **If Bazler and Columbus are linked, and if Bazler and Malice are linked…

**Herwig:** It’s safe to assume Columbus and Malice have ties.

**Callisto: **That brings a mafia into this mess too.

**Herwig:** If you want my opinion, we’ll probably be headed to Columbus next month.

**Aquillus:** I know we didn’t learn much, but what we did find out is vital to our next step in tracking down Malice.

**Kaeta: **I’m just glad you guys noticed what direction the soldiers were fleeing in. That was an important detail I didn’t notice.

**Herwig:** It’s important to notice all details on outings like this. It’s part of knight work.

**Chris: **We should go back to Garreg Mach to talk to Lady Aisa… She’ll want to hear this.

**Herwig: **She’ll need to know about this as soon as possible…

_The students walk away with Kaeta and Herwog. You follow them as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **It’s a shame we didn’t find much out today… Here’s to hoping next month will be better.

_When You arrive back at the monastery, You go to visit Aisa and Roy in their primary room of the monastery._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor. I’m glad to see you back safe and sound.

**Roy: **Did you find anything out?

_You say that You did not find much._

**Aisa: **That’s a shame…

**Roy: **You said much. You must have found something.

_You explain that You found out for sure that Malice is found in Leicester._

**Aisa: **It appears our suspicions have been confirmed… How tragic.

**Roy: **All we can do about it now is use this information to our advantage.

**Aisa: **Did you learn of anything else?

_You say that the surviving soldiers fled to Columbus territory after the battle._

**Roy: **That shows that he’s involved, just as we suspected… He and Bazler are close, and Bazler is in Malice. The proof is right there.

**Aisa: **I am unsure as to where we will go from here… This line of investigation seems to have stopped dead in its tracks.

**Roy: **Thank you for telling us all of this, Professor. You should head back to the students. I’m sure they’re wondering where you’ve gotten off to.

_You head back to the classroom._

**Seraphine: **Columbus will finally get investigated, hopefully next month… It’s about time. We’ve been waiting long enough to figure it out.

_You arrive in the classroom and see the students standing with Herwig._

**Herwig: **We have less than usual to talk about tonight, huh?

**Chris: **If only things had gone better for us…

**Zelhira:** Don’t forget about what we did find out. We know where the soldiers are retreating to. That makes today all worth it in my eyes.

**Callisto: **Columbus is doing something, but I don’t know what.

**Kaeta: **Somehow, I get the feeling we’ll all be finding out soon enough.

**Florence:** Columbus territory is not somewhere you want to find yourself. Malice will only increase the danger.

**Tuncay: **I’ve never been, but I’ve heard lots of rumors about how unsavory that place can get if you’re not part of the group…

**Aquillus: **I wish I could ease your fears by stating Columbus territory has positives, but I would be lying.

**Polly:** I’ve never been, but I’ve never heard anything good.

**Hegias: **I’d rather not think about it now…

**Kaeta: **Perhaps we should stop talking about it so that we’ll all be able to sleep tonight… Speaking of, I guess that’s all we have to do for tonight.

**Chris:** I’m going to turn in soon… Today was too much for me.

**Polly: **Same here.

**Hegias: **I can’t help but wish we had figured more out…

**Aquillus: **We can’t do anything about it at the moment. Let’s head to bed.

**Zelhira: **I feel the same.

**Tuncay: **I was going to do some work on my weapons, but I guess that will have to wait.

**Callisto: **I wonder what’s going to happen next…

**Florence: **We can talk about it in the morning. Goodnight.

**Herwig:** Class dismissed. Enjoy the rest of the night.

_The students leave the classroom behind alongside Herwig to go their separate ways, but Kaeta taps You on the shoulder._

**Kaeta: **Professor, I want to ask you something… Could I stay with you from here on out? I know you’re wandering from class to class to help out as you wish, but I want to stay with you. I’m still not an official student, but I’m not an official knight yet either. I need some training and experience in the field, which I’m not getting in my current position. I’ve seen you in action, and I think I could learn a lot from you. So? What do you say?

_You tell Kaeta You would be happy to have her._

**Kaeta: **Awesome! Thank you so much, Professor! You won’t regret this!

_Kaeta dashes away happily._

**Seraphine: **She sure seems excited… I bet we’re going to have a lot of fun with her in the future… But we can’t have fun now given how late it is. Let’s head back to our room.

_You go to your bedroom alongside Seraphine._

**Seraphine: **We didn’t learn too much today, but I guess we can’t do anything about it now. All we really can do is wait and hope we can storm right through to Columbus territory sooner rather than later. That will be a battle to remember given how many people got away after that last fight. Plus, we need to deal with the area generally being unsavory, and as far as I can tell, there’s a mafia involved too. On top of that, we might have people who suffered from collateral damage under Bazler’s influence… There’s a lot to keep in mind for when we do get through to Columbus territory.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **I really don’t know what to think about all that’s been happening. It’s just… A lot happening all at once, you know? There’s nothing either one of us can do to change it, but I wish we could get some peace. It’s hard to get used to your new teaching job when everything feels like it’s in chaos all the time. Maybe I’m annoyed. I don’t know. There’s just a lot going on, and I guess I’m starting to get overwhelmed.

_You propose that going to sleep might help her._

**Seraphine: **You’re right… We both need some rest after today. Well, let’s get to sleep. Goodnight, Professor.

_You fall asleep soon after, unsure of where your quest will take You next. This uncertain note isn’t a good way to end the month in your opinion, but there is nothing to be done about it. You rest uneasily, but sleep still comes faster than it has in past months. You hope silently that You will find more answers in the coming months, though You are unsure as to if this will come true. If it doesn’t, You do not know what You will do… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: omg my supply of chapters I have finished is going down
> 
> Also me: *has typed through all of chapter seven*
> 
> So basically I am Dumb
> 
> -Digital


	39. Chapter Six: Tainted Memories I (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You learn about the bloody history of the Alliance royalty's relations.

_When the next month, the Horsebow Moon, begins, You wake up and head towards the room where Aisa and Roy usually are. Seraphine speaks to You as You walk._

**Seraphine: **I can’t help but wonder what we’ll be up to this time around… Maybe we’ll have to do something involving Columbus territory since the lord there is supposedly involved with Bazler. Maybe it’s time for us to track down Bazler since Florence and Herwig have been found. Maybe we’re finally going to find the people who knocked us out the day we recovered that memory of the past… I’m sick of waiting around for something like that to happen. Can’t we just hear the truth already?

_You cannot help but agree with Seraphine about being tired of waiting without seeing many results. However, You know that You do not get to decide the mission, so You approach Aisa and Roy to ask for what they want You to do._

**Aisa: **It’s good to see you, Professor. It’s time for us to give you the next month’s mission.

**Roy: **We were going to send you to Columbus territory to investigate the lord’s involvement with Lord Bazler, but we need more time to gather information. For right now, we want you to do something else within Leicester territory.

**Seraphine: **Great. Another month where we don’t get any answers. This is starting to get a wee bit frustrating. Can’t we catch a break every once in a while?

**Aisa: **We have reason to believe that Malice has appeared in Leicester, something that has happened before…

**Roy: **Malice has committed two major crimes in Leicester as far as we are aware, though both of them were ultimately swept under the rug. The first had the younger of the two sons in the Alliance being attacked and nearly killed. This caused Leicester to go on high alert to try and find the culprits, but nobody was ever officially revealed to be the culprit.

**Aisa: **However, since they were dressed in black, it seems clear as day to me that they were involved with Malice… However, this wasn’t the only time they appeared before the Alliance territory.

**Roy: **The second time, an important family in Leicester was targeted. It was the family of the military leader in the Alliance. Each member of the family was killed, found dead in their house. The culprit was never found, but there were a few scraps of fabric left behind that seemed to have distorted Crest emblems carved into them.

**Seraphine: **Why are we just now hearing about this?

_You ask why Aisa and Roy never brought this up sooner._

**Aisa: **We weren’t sure if it was true or not… We needed some extra time to confirm our suspicions.

**Roy: **Not much information was released about either attack, meaning we had to go back to square one to investigate the incidents.

**Seraphine: **Why would it be pushed under the rug like that…? That certainly seems odd, if you ask me.

**Aisa: **Regardless of how long it took us to come to this conclusion, the fact remains that you’ll be following one of the three houses to victory this coming month. Hopefully, you’ll be able to gather information about Malice involvement in the Alliance, and if you can find important details, we’ll be able to press on and perhaps find the people behind this.

**Roy: **I’m afraid we’re struggling to tie up loose ends with Malice in other nations at the moment. There hasn’t been enough for us to go off to find Marcus from Faerghus or Bazler from Adrestia, leaving us in a bit of a tight spot.

**Seraphine: **So, in other words, we get this, or we have to deal with just going at it without help… Damn.

**Aisa: **So, Professor… What will it be?

_You think it over briefly before deciding to follow the Blue Lions for the coming month._

**Roy: **Blue Lions it is?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **In that case, perhaps it’s time for you to go and discuss the coming month with your class.

**Roy: **I’m sure they’re waiting for you.

_You thank them for the update and start to head towards the classroom._

**Seraphine: **So, it looks like all we can do at this point is hope that something comes up while we’re out in Leicester trying to find an answer… It’s been a month since we’ve had any memories awakened again. Maybe we’ll be lucky and see something that we haven’t before. I’m sick of just knowing one thing about our past. We just know that we went to that one village when we were younger alongside Evenor… Who the hell is she, anyways? How is she related to us? Will we ever find an answer?

_You enter the Blue Lions classroom and see the students standing with Reese._

**Reese:** Greetings, Professor… You came at a good time. We were talking about what the next month will bring.

**Magnolia:** I was planning on explaining the previous cases where Malice appeared in Leicester… Or at least, what I know about them.

**Falon: **Why am I not surprised that they’re involved with Malice…? It would really be odd if only Adrestia and Faerghus were involved.

**Karim: **If we’re going to be here for a while for this explanation, I’m going to get comfy.

**Magnolia: **When Malice first showed up, it was shortly after the death of the archduke’s wife, Cynthia Origo. Her husband had gone missing just a few years before, and she wound up passing away from her grief.

**Kyle: **I grew up hearing that the archduke had died…

**Magnolia: **That’s what most people believe, but no corpse was ever found after he disappeared… Makes for quite the conspiracy, if you ask me.

**Cassia: **It’s something to keep in mind…

**Magnolia: **Back on subject, a group of assassins wearing all black broke into the palace. They went after the younger of the two potential heirs, Raithius’ brother. The invaders were fought off by some miracle.

**Aestlyn: **Since he’s alive, he obviously got out okay.

**Magnolia:** I heard that a few guards arrived to get rid of the assailants, and they never appeared before people again… Or, at the very least, the people who did see them again never got to tell the tale.

**Illona: **I think I heard about this…

**Nora: **Do explain then.

**Illona: **The primary general of the Alliance was found dead alongside all of his relatives. Their deaths were violent and gruesome… The only evidence left behind were scraps of fabric with distorted Crests sewn into them… The meaning was unknown until recently.

**Nora: **Sounds like Malice has been doing things for a lot longer than originally thought…

**Magnolia:** This next part is only speculation, but some believe the daughter of the family was going to marry Raithius one day. They didn’t have a Crest, but they were still influential. To this day, I haven’t gotten confirmation from Raithius on the matter.

**Aestlyn:** I wonder why they all died like that…

**Karim: **Most believe it happened because they were tight with the royal family, but there’s nothing to prove that conclusively.

**Cassia: **What irritating troublemakers…

**Falon: **Malice wasn’t fully exposed up until recently, meaning the investigation didn’t go far since nobody knew what the Crests meant.

**Kyle: **Our list of things to do just seems to grow the longer this group is left alone…

**Reese: **There’s not much we can do at the moment. Malice’s influence in Leicester has yet to be confirmed, at least as far as recent years are concerned. Pieces of evidence are few and far between.

**Aestlyn: **If there’s nothing for us to do right now, I guess we’ll just have to go on about life…

**Illona: **I don’t like not having a plan… Not having a plan can lead to trouble…

**Falon: **All we can do is rest on it for a while.

**Magnolia: **Is that all we needed to talk about, Professor?

**Reese: **Yeah. We’re done. Have a nice day, everyone.

_The students leave the classroom with Reese. Before You can leave, Raithius and Novalee approach You._

**Raithius: **Professor, can we talk to you?

_You nod._

**Novalee: **We have a few suspicions surrounding Malice, to say the least.

**Raithius: **Yeah… I’m sure you heard about my father already. We thought that he died because he was missing for a few years.

**Novalee: **Julius Origo… He went missing less than two years after your younger brother was born, Raithius.

**Raithius: **Yeah. He supposedly went out on a mission with the military leader of the Alliance, Louis Stomm. The Stomm family has been leading the military of Leicester for generations, and they’re often seen as the closest advisors to the Origo line.

**Novalee: **Of course, that all changed when the Stomm’s were killed less than three years ago…

**Raithius: **I was going to marry the sole child of the Stomm family’s leader, Ara. However, she was killed alongside her parents, aunt, uncle, and cousins in a bloody massacre.

**Novalee: **The family was wiped off the map so quickly…

**Raithius: **I can’t think of anybody off the top of my head who would bear ill will towards them…

**Novalee: **But let’s get back on track. Your father is what we were discussing.

**Raithius: **Oh, right, right… My father went missing a long time ago, and he was pronounced dead despite no body ever being found.

**Novalee: **There’s no proof to show that he’s dead, but nothing can show if he’s alive either.

**Raithius: **The mission where he went missing is as mysterious as it gets. As soon as it happened, all information surrounding it was eliminated. Any paperwork about it was burned. The people he was set to fight are a mystery too.

**Novalee: **The only people who would be aware of such a fact would be Cynthia Origo, Julius’ wife, or Louis Stomm, but they’re both dead…

**Raithius: **I’m not trying to bombard you with a conspiracy or anything, Professor… Just something to keep in mind.

**Novalee: **If you have any other questions, feel free to come to us and ask.

**Raithius: **Yeah, what she said…

**Seraphine: **I guess when the Stomm family fell, Novalee stepped up to take the position that a Stomm family member would regularly hold…

**Novalee: **Thank you again for listening to us, Professor.

**Raithius: **Yeah, it means a lot… That’s it from us. See you around, Professor.

_Raithius and Novalee walk out of the classroom._

**Seraphine: **Hm… Well, I guess all that we can do at this point is explore the monastery. There’s no solid evidence of anything they said… It’s just speculation right now, and there’s no point getting that deep into it as far as I’m aware… Off we go, Professor.

_You nod your agreement and start to explore the monastery. The first person You see in the courtyard of the Officers Academy is Nora._

**Nora: **Leicester territory, huh… I was thinking that the place had to be involved with Malice somehow, but there’s nothing concrete yet as far as I can tell. Here’s hoping that we can pull something off. I’m sick of not learning much of anything each month.

_The next person in the courtyard is Cedric, and You approach him next._

**Cedric: **Leicester… I grew up surrounded by nobles there, you know. Even if they weren’t officially nobles, the Stomm family was rather close with mine. I always knew they died under mysterious circumstances, but I didn’t realize it went this far… Malice is going to pay for what they did. That’s a promise.

_The final person in the courtyard is Callisto, and You walk up to her._

**Callisto: **I’m so glad that we found Florence, but now we’re being launched into yet another mission… Does it ever end? I wonder if the previous school years have been this messy… Malice obviously indicates that we’re on the verge of something big, but I don’t know what it could be… 

_After leaving the Officers Academy, You head to the training hall. Inside, You see Kaeta soon after entering._

**Kaeta: **Guess what, Professor? I’m going to be joining you on this mission! I’ve had enough of sitting around and doing nothing, so I asked Captain Torryn about it. She went to the archbishop, and Lady Aisa thinks I could benefit from learning under you. Thank goodness… I’m raring to go already.

_Also inside the training hall is Piers, and You walk up to him._

**Piers: **Malice here, Malice there, Malice everywhere… First it was Adrestia when that scholar got attacked, then it was Faerghus with the killers of the previous king, and finally it, it’s Leicester now with assassins that killed a noble family… Just how many of these enemies are there? And where could they have come from?

_You leave the training hall to head to the bottom floor of dorms. Inside one of the dorms is Hegias, and You knock on his door._

**Hegias: **Who is it…?

_You tell him it’s You._

**Hegias: **Ah, hello, Professor…

_You ask if he is alright._

**Hegias: **Oh, I’m fine… Just… Doing a few things on my own. Don’t worry about it. There’s nothing to worry about here.

**Seraphine: **Okay… He’s fine, and I’m perfectly real… But I doubt we’ll be able to get much out of him now… I guess we can just leave him be for now.

_Further down the row of dorms, You see Karim standing alone._

**Karim: **So much is happening this year… Malice’s influence appears to be really widespread but I don’t know what to do about it. I just… Damn it! Why is all of this happening so suddenly? Is there something about this year that makes it so special as opposed to previous years? Why are we the ones getting attacked?

_You tell him that You do not know._

**Karim: **I know… It’s just frustrating, I guess.

_At the edge of the row of dorms, You encounter Wolfgang._

**Wolfgang: **If the previous archduke of the Alliance was taken hostage… I wonder if it could be related to… Ah, Professor!

_You ask her what she was talking about._

**Wolfgang: **It’s nothing. Forget I said anything, actually. That would be best for all of us, if you ask me.

**Seraphine: **She seems pretty firm on not talking to us… Fine. If that’s how she wants to be, then fine. It’s her choice.

_You head upstairs to the second floor of dorms. You don’t see anyone in the hallway, but the farthest dorm in the row has a person in it: Chris. You knock lightly and tell her it’s You._

**Chris: **H-Hello, Professor. You’ll have to forgive my less than optimal state at the moment… I just need some time to myself. I’m writing a letter to my father after what happened… Is that alright?

_You tell her yes._

**Chris: **Thank you again, Professor… I’ll see you later.

**Seraphine: **Of course it has to do with the emperor… Even when he’s not here, he makes me want to punch something.

_You leave the second floor of dorms to enter the greenhouse. Inside, You see Sofia talking to Adeline._

**Sofia: **You seem to be pretty knowledgeable about nobility in Leicester, Adeline.

**Adeline: **I suppose you could say that… Why do you ask?

**Sofia: **Ah… Um… Do you know anything about one Conrad von Ruden…?

**Adeline: **Um… Last I heard, he was growing up well under his father… Are you two related or something?

**Sofia: **I… No. It’s complicated. Forget I said anything.

**Adeline: **If you insist…

_Sensing the heaviness behind their conversation, You leave the greenhouse to go to the fishing hole. Once there, You see Kyle and Aestlyn talking._

**Kyle: **Aren’t you a beautiful one, Aestlyn?

**Aestlyn: **Kyle, where is all of this coming from?

**Kyle: **I got some advice recently to be open with the people I care about, so… I’m going to tell you exactly how I feel.

**Aestlyn: **Well… Isn’t this a very nice thing for a friend to say to another?

**Kyle: **…

**Aestlyn: **Kyle? What is that look of shock about?

**Kyle: **Nothing…

**Aestlyn: **If you insist…

_You leave the fishing hole to head to the market. Once there, You encounter Cordelia standing alone._

**Cordelia: **A lot has been happening recently with Malice… I had to do some real protesting in order to get Kaeta a place working under you in the future. Lady Aisa seems to want all the knights prepared for an attack on the monastery… I just hope the danger of Malice never goes that far.

_You leave the market and head to the entrance hall. You see many people scattered about inside, but the first one You encounter is Tuncay._

**Tuncay: **With all of this chaos, I’ve barely had any time to forge weapons… It’s frustrating, but what can you do? I wish Malice would just roll over and quit these shenanigans already. We’re getting sick of it fast.

_You walk away from Tuncay, and You approach a pair of people standing nearby: Yuliya and Rodain._

**Rodain: **Yuliya, you have a Crest, do you not?

**Yuliya: **Yeah. What about it?

**Rodain: **Oh, nothing… I just didn’t know before. Why don’t you tell people that?

**Yuliya: **It does nothing but bring me trouble from entitled piles of garbage.

**Rodain: **Your Crest does that?

**Yuliya: **I know what I said. Are we done here?

**Rodain: **I suppose so… Sorry for bothering you.

**Yuliya: **Don’t worry about it…

_The next pair You encounter in the entrance hall is Raithius and Novalee._

**Raithius: **Father… I never knew him all that well, but I’m sure you already figured that much out.

**Novalee: **Yeah… I could guess.

**Raithius: **I can’t help but wonder… Was Malice involved in his disappearance?

**Novalee: **It wouldn’t surprise me… Professor. Hello.

**Raithius: **Forgive our mindless rambling, Professor. We were just finishing up.

**Novalee: **Yes… Pardon us.

**Seraphine: **I guess they don’t want anybody listening in on them… Hm. How strange.

_You head into the reception hall next. There are two people there once You arrive, the first of them being Wynne._

**Wynne: **There’s been so much happening lately… And yet, nothing is happening at the same time. How long can Lady Aisa keep us holed up like this when there’s danger out there? Malice is running rampant, but we knights haven’t been able to do anything… Sometimes, I really don’t understand her.

_The second person in the reception hall, Polly, is the next one You speak with._

**Polly: **I still can’t stop thinking about what happened last month with the mages from Malice… They were hiding under the monastery all along thanks to their powerful warp magic. They got away with it almost too easily, if you ask me. They must have really known their stuff to get by without being detected for all that time.

_After leaving the reception hall, You head to the knights’ hall. Inside, You encounter Derric and Niko, who are talking to one another._

**Niko: **Derric, do you… Do you think I’ll have to learn more about fighting soon?

**Derric: **Where is this coming from…?

**Niko: **I think you know… Things are so dangerous all of a sudden. If something happens here at the monastery, I’ll need to know how to defend myself.

**Derric: **As… As much as I hate to say it, I think that might be a good idea.

**Niko: **Will you help me learn?

**Derric: **… If you think it would be for the best…

_Also standing in the knights’ hall is Cassia, and You approach her next._

**Cassia: **I’m planning on becoming a knight after this school year ends, you know… With all that has been happening, I’m sure they’ll have a place for me… Of course, I can’t just ask about it… I don’t know what to do, honestly… Oh, well. I’m sure I can figure it out later.

_You decide to leave the knights’ hall to go to the stables. Inside, You see three people. The first of them is Miriam, who You approach first._

**Miriam: **I truly am happy that Florence is back after last month… Her mount is much happier with her around. I was happy to care for Faith in her absence, but… Her pegasus needs her more than anything else… The bond between steed and rider truly is a special one.

_The second person in the stables is Aquillus, and You walk up to him next._

**Aquillus: **Even if it’s been a while since we saw him, I can’t stop thinking about Bazler… He committed so many unspeakably horrible crimes but got away with it because the emperor owed him a debt… What could they have possibly been connected by? I do hope it had nothing to do with Bazler’s business, but knowing the emperor, it wouldn’t surprise me…

_The final person is Falon, and You walk up to her._

**Falon: **I can’t help but wonder about what happened when we ran into the killers of the previous king… I don’t know why people from Faerghus would want him dead. Franz Josefa was known for his crimes against Albinea, but it was a war most Faerghus people supported… I feel like there’s more than meets the eye as far as his death is concerned…

_You head to the bridge leading over to the cathedral, and standing on the bridge are Magnolia and Illona._

**Magnolia: **Illona, would you care to tell me why I heard some priests talking about an odd girl with lilac hair talking about how she frequently hid arrows in trees to use when she spied on ‘invasive geese’?

**Illona: **Where did you hear that…?

**Magnolia: **You wouldn’t happen to be hiding arrows in trees, would you? And if so, how do you use them to spy on invasive geese?

**Illona: **Everybody knows there are no geese around here…

**Magnolia: **No, there aren’t geese around here…

**Illona: **Maybe they were owls instead…

**Magnolia: **Perhaps…

**Illona: **Well, I’m off to write a letter to my orange-haired knight in shining armor!

**Magnolia: **I swear, not even the goddess herself could still that tongue of yours…

_When You arrive in the cathedral, You see four people. The first of them is William, and You walk up to him first._

**William: **I’m glad Florence is back safely… I heard some of the knights talking about the findings from the underground hideout. They didn’t find anything else of interest, but there are a lot of rumors flying around relating to the Faixnoye family now… I wonder what the emperor is hiding…

_Next, You walk up to Lev._

**Lev: **I can’t help but wonder about how Malice could be connected to Leicester… I heard all about it earlier on, but it still seems odd… In order to kill an important family like the Stomm’s, you’d need knowledge of the area or a lot of troops, and Malice didn’t seem to have the latter… Who could have done this…?

_The third person in the cathedral is Nesreen, and You walk up to her._

**Nesreen: **I found some interesting information while I was out looking around… I’m sure you already heard it all from Lady Aisa. The Stomm family was massacred… Malice has been around for so long, but it wasn’t until recently that they showed their faces enough for us to know what’s going on… I wonder why they chose now.

_The final person in the cathedral is Zelhira._

**Zelhira: **The Crest of Cethleann is only found in House Bazler… I don’t know what to make of that. I always knew my adopted father’s family had the Crest of Daphnel, but…

_You ask if she is related to Bazler._

**Zelhira: **I’m afraid I don’t know… I don’t know either of my birth parents… But I sure as hell hope not.

_You leave the cathedral and head upstairs to the second floor. You make for the library first, and inside, You encounter Herwig._

**Herwig: **I’ve been trying to do research to see if there’s any pattern surrounding where Malice has struck. By studying what they’ve done, we can see where they will be… I feel restless after not getting much done last month… I’m exhausted but restless at the same time. It’s an odd paradox.

_You head to the teachers’ rooms. You see Reese standing in the hallway next._

**Reese: **I’m glad to see that Herwig and Florence are doing alright… I guess Malice found them to be too valuable to harm horribly. Thank the goddess for that… They were beaten up enough when we arrived. I would hate to see how they looked if we had been much later.

_When You enter Jill’s room, You see Jill and Florence standing together._

**Jill: **Are you sure about this?

**Florence: **Positive. If I’ve really got a healing Crest, then I might as well put it to good use.

**Jill: **I’m not exactly that great with faith magic… Are you sure this is a good idea?

**Florence: **I’m sure. If this Crest has been dormant for so long, why not let it out at long last?

**Jill: **Well… If you’re positive, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.

_You leave Jill’s room and head to the cardinals’ room. Inside, You see Adrian standing alone._

**Adrian: **You have no idea how relieved I am to see that Professor Wessin is alright. I was so worried about him… Somehow I’m not surprised that he figured out Florence had a Crest before everyone else. He’s always been perceptive, easily able to detect Crests like that… I’m just glad to see it didn’t get him into too much trouble…

_You leave the cardinals’ room and head to see Aisa and Roy once again._

**Roy: **I take it you heard the story behind Malice’s involvement in Leicester, yes?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I’m glad to hear you’ve been given details on the matter… I’m sure they’ll prove useful in the coming month.

**Roy: **Did you hear about the former archduke of Leicester as well?

_You nod again._

**Roy: **Good… His case is rather mysterious, wouldn’t you say?

**Aisa: **But all suspicions will have to stay within these walls… We cannot let anybody use this information to do something awful.

**Roy: **Even if he is alive, there’s no real way of proving it…

**Aisa: **But enough about that. I hope you’ve had a nice day, Professor. Feel free to go on about your business.

**Seraphine: **Nope… I’m done. Let’s go to bed.

_You head back to your room, Seraphine walking at your side._

**Seraphine: **The archduke of the Alliance might be alive… How strange… Everybody assumed he died many years ago, but that might not be true… And on top of that, Malice has gotten involved in Leicester. There’s a lot more going on than one would expect… But there’s nothing we can do about it now. Goodnight, Professor.

_You lay down on your bed. There are many things to keep in mind, between Julius Origo, the Stomm family, and the assailants who went after Raithius and his brother. Your head is swirling with questions, but You find that You are more tired than expected. It doesn’t take You long to fall asleep, Seraphine following suit soon after. You cannot help but wonder what the coming month will bring, but You are not entirely sure if You want to know… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter six's third version is coming up on Thursday since I'm going to be out of commission tomorrow woo
> 
> -Digital


	40. Chapter Six: Tainted Memories II (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You set out with the Blue Lions to stop Malice in another battle.

_The morning of the mission, You wake up and make your way to the Blue Lions homeroom. When You arrive, You see the students standing with Reese._

**Reese: **The time has come to check out what’s going on in Leicester territory, but I feel like everybody knows who’s doing this.

**Falon: **It’s not hard to figure out.

**Aestlyn: **Why are we waiting here then? We need to make sure that nothing else happens.

**Kyle: **We’re going to have a new companion for this fight, but we need to wait for her to come before setting out.

**Magnolia: **I remember now. Kaeta’s coming along.

**Karim: **It’s strange thinking that a knight is actually going to be helping us out. They haven’t done much up to now.

**Cassia: **The archbishop must have a reason for it.

**Illona: **I just wish I knew why…

**Nora: **There she is now.

_The door opens as Kaeta walks in._

**Kaeta: **Greetings, students.

**Magnolia:** No need to be so formal, Kaeta. We’re all friends here, and formal talk truly isn’t necessary.

**Kaeta: **Well, isn’t that a nice offer? I suppose I’ll just have to take you up on that.

**Aestlyn: **Welcome to the team, Kaeta.

**Kyle: **Look at you… You’re strong as can be…

**Kaeta: **Ugh, you again? I believe I said to leave me alone!

**Seraphine: **Looks like Kyle is going to be having a field day with this new friend…

**Falon: **Now that Kaeta’s with us, we can leave. Leicester is waiting for us.

**Illona: **There’s a lot of loose ends for us to wrap up… I hope we learn at least one new thing.

**Cassia: **I’m positive we’ll find something.

**Karim: **Malice won’t be getting away with this.

**Nora: **No reason to stay here then.

**Reese: **I would agree. Off we go.

_The students, Reese, and Kaeta leave the room. You follow them._

_Over the next two or so hours, the group travels to Leicester territory. Upon arriving, the group stands on a trade road near the capital._

**Reese:** This is the last place Malice visited.

**Magnolia: **You would expect someone to be here, but…

**Nora:** We can wait a little longer.

**Illona: **Did you guys hear that?

**Karim: **Look!

_A man appears from behind the nearby trees. His name is John._

**John: **Monastery brats… What are you doing here?

**Aestlyn:** I want to know why you’re here too. Answer me.

**Cassia: **We should keep from provoking our enemy…

**Kyle: **What are you doing here?

**John: **It’s strictly business. I’m sorry to say that it’s just how things have to be.

**Falon: **How it has to be? What does that even mean?

**Magnolia: **How about you answer us instead of being vague?

**John: **That’s all you’re getting out of me.

**Magnolia: **As if! We’re going to get you to talk.

**Kaeta: **What a little punk! Talk already, you little--

**Reese: **Kaeta, please calm down.

**Kaeta: **What are we supposed to do about this guy though?! If he won’t give us the information that we need--

**Magnolia: **If that’s how he’s going to be, then we’ll just have to show him what we’re made of.

**Falon: **Magnolia has a point. Let’s take care of him.

**Kaeta: **Guys… Look around. It’s not just that guy that we’ll be up against.

_Other soldiers of Malice appear from behind the nearby trees, leaving You and the students surrounded._

**Seraphine: **Damn… They’re a lot better at hiding than I would have originally expected. I didn’t even realize they were around…

**Magnolia: **You won’t be getting away with this.

**John: **Me personally? I’m just following orders, kid. I get paid, and I do the work.

**Falon: **We’re dealing with a mercenary…

**John: **I would have thought that to be obvious.

**Magnolia: **You willingly joined this group…?!

**John: **Judge me all you want, but do it later.

**Reese: **Blue Lions! We battle!

_The battle begins. The Blue Lions fight against the Malice mercenaries, showing an increase in skill from the last time You saw them in action. Slowly, they break through the ring of enemy soldiers surrounding your group, and eventually, they break through the crowd to reach John._

_If You initiate combat with John, this dialogue plays out._

**John: **You look like the leader of this little gang… You’re here because the church told you to come, huh? Well, siding with the church is a poor choice on many levels. It’s just a matter of time until you figure it out. If you had any loyalty to Leicester, you’d be on my side… But you’ve shown what side you’re on, and I’ll have to kill you for it. So be it.

_If Magnolia initiates combat with John, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **Malice was involved with the deaths of the Stomm family, correct?

**John: **How would I know something like that? You already figured out that I’m just a mercenary.

**Magnolia: **You… You know nothing?

**John: **Well, I do know something, but it doesn’t have much to do with the Stomm murders.

**Magnolia: **Go on then. I’m listening.

**John: **Let’s just say that the archduke’s family is much more involved with Malice than you realize.

**Magnolia: **What are you saying?

**John: **I’m not providing any answers beyond that. In fact, what I’ve already told you was a bad idea to mention. Let’s just get this over with.

_If Falon initiates combat with John, this dialogue plays out._

**Falon: **Do you know about what Malice has done?

**John: **I’m afraid not. They paid me, so I sided with them. It’s really a simple situation.

**Falon: **You’re a mercenary. You had choice in taking on this job or not, but you still went into it… Did you even think about looking into them at all?

**John: **Kind of hard to research a group of assassins.

**Falon:** Regardless of my personal thoughts, there’s no reason to let this continue. If you have no idea what is going on, then the battlefield will just have to have its way with you. My apologies in advance.

_If anybody else initiates combat with John, this dialogue plays out._

**John: **Officers Academy brats… The real world is a lot crueler than you realize, and I’ll have to show it to you here today!

_When John is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**John: **Damn children… Overstepping your boundaries…

_After the battle, John is lying dead in the grass. The Blue Lions, Reese, and Kaeta stand alongside You around his body._

**Kaeta: **We didn’t learn anything…

**Magnolia: **I think we learned something, actually. We’re positive now that Malice is here in Leicester when it was just a theory before.

**Kaeta: **But that’s all we know. This guy was just a mercenary, so he couldn’t tell us any company secrets. This sucks!

**Nora: **We might not have learned much from that man, but there is something else important I would like to point out.

**Illona: **You mean the remaining soldiers.

**Nora: **Exactly.

**Karim: **They’re all going the same way…

**Cassia: **If you ask me, they were given a specific direction to go towards if they had to retreat.

**Falon: **That’s where Columbus territory is…

**Kyle: **He was involved with Bazler…

**Magnolia: **His territory is the home of the Canis Mafia, the most dangerous black market organization in all of Leicester, maybe even the continent.

**Aestlyn: **If Bazler and Columbus have ties, and Bazler has ties to Malice…

**Reese:** It’s easy to connect the dots and say Malice is connected to Columbus.

**Illona: **That means a mafia is involved in this whole mess…

**Reese:** If I had to guess, Columbus is going to be involved with our outing next month.

**Cassia: **We haven’t learned much, but what we did learn is important to keep in mind as we return to the monastery.

**Kaeta: **I’m just glad you guys noticed what direction the soldiers were fleeing in. That was an important detail I didn’t notice.

**Reese:** Learning to examine all details is important, especially if you’re a knight.

**Magnolia: **We should return to the monastery and tell Lady Aisa about this.

**Reese: **You’re right. She’s going to want to hear this.

_The students walk away with Kaeta and Reese. You follow them as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **It’s a shame we didn’t find much out today… Here’s to hoping next month will be better.

_When You arrive back at the monastery, You go to visit Aisa and Roy in their primary room of the monastery._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor. I’m glad to see you back safe and sound.

**Roy: **Did you find anything out?

_You say that You did not find much._

**Aisa: **That’s a shame…

**Roy: **You said much. You must have found something.

_You explain that You found out for sure that Malice is found in Leicester._

**Aisa: **It appears our suspicions have been confirmed… How tragic.

**Roy: **All we can do about it now is use this information to our advantage.

**Aisa: **Did you learn of anything else?

_You say that the surviving soldiers fled to Columbus territory after the battle._

**Roy: **That shows that he’s involved, just as we suspected… He and Bazler are close, and Bazler is in Malice. The proof is right there.

**Aisa: **I am unsure as to where we will go from here… This line of investigation seems to have stopped dead in its tracks.

**Roy: **Thank you for telling us all of this, Professor. You should head back to the students. I’m sure they’re wondering where you’ve gotten off to.

_You head back to the classroom._

**Seraphine: **Columbus will finally get investigated, hopefully next month… It’s about time. We’ve been waiting long enough to figure it out.

_You arrive in the classroom and see the students standing with Reese._

**Reese: **Well, we don’t need to talk much. We barely learned anything.

**Magnolia: **I wish things had gone in our favor…

**Cassia: **Let’s not forget that we figured out where the soldiers were told to retreat to. I’d say that made this worth it.

**Nora: **Columbus has to be up to something. We just need to hear what.

**Kaeta: **Somehow, I get the feeling we’ll all be finding out soon enough.

**Karim: **Columbus territory isn’t a good place to be. The Malice thing only makes it worse when it was bad enough before.

**Illona: **I haven’t been there before, but I’ve heard about how horrible it is… I never want to enter those borders.

**Falon: **I wish I could say there are positives to that place, but there aren’t any as far as I’m aware.

**Aestlyn: **I haven’t ever gone there, but from what I’ve heard, that’s probably for the best.

**Illona: **This is startling me…

**Kaeta: **Perhaps we should stop talking about it so that we’ll all be able to sleep tonight… Speaking of, I guess that’s all we have to do for tonight.

**Magnolia:** I’m going to head to sleep. I’m wiped after all that’s happened.

**Falon: **I feel the same.

**Aestlyn: **I wish we had learned more…

**Karim: **We can’t change that now. Let’s sleep for now and get ready to go again next time.

**Kyle: **I agree with Karim.

**Cassia: **Who can say what the future will hold?

**Nora: **We can discuss it at a later point. Goodnight.

**Reese:** Class dismissed. Have a nice night, everybody.

_The students leave the classroom behind alongside Reese to go their separate ways, but Kaeta taps You on the shoulder._

**Kaeta: **Professor, I want to ask you something… Could I stay with you from here on out? I know you’re wandering from class to class to help out as you wish, but I want to stay with you. I’m still not an official student, but I’m not an official knight yet either. I need some training and experience in the field, which I’m not getting in my current position. I’ve seen you in action, and I think I could learn a lot from you. So? What do you say?

_You tell Kaeta You would be happy to have her._

**Kaeta: **Awesome! Thank you so much, Professor! You won’t regret this!

_Kaeta dashes away happily._

**Seraphine: **She sure seems excited… I bet we’re going to have a lot of fun with her in the future… But we can’t have fun now given how late it is. Let’s head back to our room.

_You go to your bedroom alongside Seraphine._

**Seraphine: **We didn’t learn too much today, but I guess we can’t do anything about it now. All we really can do is wait and hope we can storm right through to Columbus territory sooner rather than later. That will be a battle to remember given how many people got away after that last fight. Plus, we need to deal with the area generally being unsavory, and as far as I can tell, there’s a mafia involved too. On top of that, we might have people who suffered from collateral damage under Bazler’s influence… There’s a lot to keep in mind for when we do get through to Columbus territory.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **I really don’t know what to think about all that’s been happening. It’s just… A lot happening all at once, you know? There’s nothing either one of us can do to change it, but I wish we could get some peace. It’s hard to get used to your new teaching job when everything feels like it’s in chaos all the time. Maybe I’m annoyed. I don’t know. There’s just a lot going on, and I guess I’m starting to get overwhelmed.

_You propose that going to sleep might help her._

**Seraphine: **You’re right… We both need some rest after today. Well, let’s get to sleep. Goodnight, Professor.

_You fall asleep soon after, unsure of where your quest will take You next. This uncertain note isn’t a good way to end the month in your opinion, but there is nothing to be done about it. You rest uneasily, but sleep still comes faster than it has in past months. You hope silently that You will find more answers in the coming months, though You are unsure as to if this will come true. If it doesn’t, You do not know what You will do… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter six is done!
> 
> It's so funny to be finally posting this since I finished it a month or so ago. I'm about to start chapter nine, so I'm very far ahead in my free time. Yoinks.
> 
> -Digital


	41. Chapter Seven: Fangs of Corruption I (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You explore the monastery after being given a mission in Columbus territory.

_You wake up on the first day of the Wyvern Moon, seeing Seraphine beside You._

**Seraphine: **Here’s to hoping that we can get into Columbus territory at long last… If you ask me, we’ve been waiting far too long to take care of that man. We found out about him when we first encountered Bazler, which feels like it was ages ago… I guess everything feels like ages when you’ve forgotten more than eighteen years of your life, not that we have a perfectly accurate statement on your age.

_You walk to the room where Aisa and Roy are found, Seraphine following You._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor.

**Roy: **We’re finally ready to send you off to Columbus territory this month. I’m glad to say that we’ve finally been given the chance to take care of him.

**Seraphine: **It’s about time! I’ve been waiting for this… It’s about time that we got the chance to make sure that dastard got what he deserved.

**Aisa: **Since you don’t know much about our land as a whole, perhaps it would be best if we explained the full story behind Columbus territory.

**Roy: **Once, about twenty-five years ago, there was no Columbus territory. It was instead a part of Origo lands, making it part of the ruling power’s territory. There was no Columbus family either.

**Aisa: **The man that now rules over Columbus was born to the Chevalier family, which can be found in Faerghus territory. There were two children in the Chevalier house: Stanton and Cliona. Stanton was known to be cruel despite his kind parents raising him well, and even if he was older, the ruling power was passed to his sister instead of him since his parents thought she would be better at ruling.

**Roy: **Stanton left Chevalier lands out of anger. He took Origo lands by force and changed his name to Wenlock Columbus, becoming the land of the territory. He took once powerful, luscious territory and made it into a horrible place.

**Aisa: **Columbus territory is widely assumed to be the worst place on the continent. Not even Bazler territory can hold a candle to it.

**Seraphine: **You have to be pretty bad if even if a human trafficking ring can’t stand up to you…

**Roy: **Lord Columbus has heavy ties with the Canis Mafia, a group that took power in Leicester around the time that he came to power. It’s implied that Columbus either leads them or is greatly associated with the one who holds the strength in the group.

**Seraphine: **A mafia… Wow. I guess that we will have more to deal with than just Malice after all. I’m not exactly happy about it, but there’s not much we can do about it now.

**Aisa: **Your job this month will be to get into Columbus territory and take out the forces that have been threatening Leicester.

**Roy: **Canis has only survived thus far because nobody believes they can take it out. However, you are not going on a mission to fight Canis. Your job here is to fight Malice.

**Aisa: **If Canis realizes that Malice is what you want, they will leave Malice behind to save their own skins.

**Roy: **That’s how Lord Columbus works… Wenlock Columbus is a cowardly man, you know. I don’t know how else to put it.

**Aisa: **Regardless of how he behaves though, you’ll be tasked with taking him on in the coming month. I trust that you can take care of such, yes?

_You nod in response._

**Aisa: **I knew we could count on you, Professor.

**Roy: **It seems to me like it’s time for you to pick your house for the month, Professor.

_You start to think about what faction You wish to follow, eventually settling on the Golden Deer._

**Aisa: **You wish to go with the Golden Deer this month?

_You nod._

**Roy: **Understood. You should head over to the classroom now then.

**Aisa: **All the students are already aware of what the plan is for the month, though they don’t know who will be going to take care of Malice.

**Roy: **I trust you’ll lead them well as you always do.

**Aisa: **Good luck.

_You leave the room, Seraphine at your side._

**Seraphine: **You know what I’m thinking of all this? I don’t like it one bit. There’s so much at stake here. Even if we aren’t going to be clashing directly with the mafia, I don’t trust them to leave us alone as we target Malice. Canis sounds dangerous… Should we really put the kids in danger this way?

_You tell Seraphine that You won’t let anything happen to any of the students._

**Seraphine: **Yeah… I know. I guess I’m just worried anyways. I can’t really help it. I guess I’m getting attached to the little ones now, just like you are.

_You arrive outside the Golden Deer homeroom and go inside slowly._

**Jill: **Greetings, Professor.

**Raithius: **Columbus territory… Somehow, I always knew we would be going there at some point.

**Wolfgang: **I don’t like this at all…

**Adeline: **That’s right… Wolfgang, you’re from Columbus, aren’t you?

**Wolfgang: **I am… I never felt the influence of the mafia too much, but going back there will put us all in danger of facing it.

**Lev: **I really don’t see why the church is doing this…

**William: **I’m sure Lady Aisa knows what she’s doing.

**Cedric: **The church has a plan. I’m positive of it.

**Sofia: **Excuse me for not having as much confidence… I don’t like this at all.

**Novalee: **Columbus territory is the most unpleasant place on the continent… I don’t know why we’re going there without any knights to help us.

**Jill: **I do know that another person is going to be joining us this month to help out on the mission, though I haven’t heard who quite yet.

**Sofia: **I guess that helps a little bit… Doesn’t change the fact that I’m nervous out of my mind though.

**Lev: **It’s hard to not be nervous when you’re dealing with Lord Columbus.

**William: **I haven’t ever gone to his lands… What is it like there?

**Novalee: **Everyone lives in fear. If anybody speaks out against the mafia, they will be silenced forcefully.

**Cedric: **Lord Columbus is like a dictator… He’s no noble. He’s a monster.

**Adeline: **I live near Columbus, and that’s enough for me… Never go there if you don’t have to.

**Raithius: **Unfortunately for us, it seems like we’ve got no choice but to go.

**Lev: **This is giving me a bad feeling already…

**Cedric: **And understandably so. I wish we didn’t have to do this either.

**Novalee: **If the church thinks we can handle it, all we can do is trust in them for now.

**Sofia: **We’re not dealing with the mafia anyways… Malice is our target. Maybe they’ll run when they realize that.

**William: **I hope that’s what happens. That will put us in less danger than actually fighting the members of Canis.

**Adeline: **Canis has committed countless crimes… Murder, arson, theft, trafficking… And that’s just what I’ve heard from people outside the group.

**Wolfgang: **There’s much more inside, you mean… I could agree with that for sure.

**Raithius: **We need to take care of the mafia one of these days… But not this month. We simply don’t have the raw power to take care of it now.

**Jill: **That’s a job for you as the future leader of Leicester. You don’t have the experience or power to do it now, so you need to stay out of trouble.

**Raithius: **I know, I know… I’ll take care of things one of these days though.

**Novalee: **And we’ll all stand by you when that day does come.

**Cedric: **I agree. Those monsters can’t be allowed to continue on as they have.

**Adeline: **I’m happy to help out as well.

**Lev: **Me too…

**William: **It appears we’re all in agreement then.

**Sofia: **What a sad, pathetic little man… Lord Columbus, I mean…

**Wolfgang: **If he has the Crest of Chevalier… Hm…

**Jill: **I don’t really think there’s much else for us to discuss.

**Cedric: **If that’s the case, I’m going to head out for now. I’ll see you all later.

**Lev: **I need to visit Travant anyways…

**Sofia: **Have a nice day, everyone.

**William: **I wonder what we’ll find out this month…

**Adeline: **There’s no way to find out until the time comes.

**Jill: **We have some training to do before then anyways.

**Novalee: **Let’s get going, Lord Raithius.

**Raithius: **Wolfy! You coming?

**Wolfgang: **Yeah… Of course.

_The students leave with Jill._

**Seraphine: **Well, wasn’t she acting kind of strange? But there’s not much we can do now. Let’s go and look around.

_You nod your agreement and leave the classroom to start exploring the monastery._

_The first people You run into after leaving the classroom are Wolfgang, Raithius, and Novalee, who are all standing together in the Officers Academy courtyard._

**Wolfgang: **I’m sure I’m fine. I’ve told you guys three times already.

**Novalee: **You don’t seem all that fine.

**Raithius: **You know you can trust us, right?

**Wolfgang: **I’m okay. Really. If I wasn’t, I would tell you.

**Novalee: **Why do I somehow doubt that?

**Raithius: **Alright, alright… We’ll leave you alone… For now.

_You leave the Officers Academy courtyard to go to the training hall. Inside, You encounter Callisto and Florence._

**Callisto: **I’ve been putting in as much work as possible to master this dagger move, but I still can’t get it.

**Florence: **Then why don’t you try it on me? With a practice weapon, of course.

**Callisto: **I guess that might work better than a dummy…

**Florence: **Oh, please. Whether it’s made of a sack or not, your target will still be a dummy.

**Callisto: **But still a dummy I really care about.

**Florence: **Aw, you’re too sweet…

_The other people in the training hall are revealed to be Cassia and Miriam when You get closer._

**Cassia: **You’ve mastered flying and fighting at the same time, yes?

**Miriam: **I have… It took a lot of practice, but anything that wants to be good needs refining in some way or another.

**Cassia: **Would you be willing to help me take the reins one day?

**Miriam: **Perhaps… If you show me you’re ready first.

**Cassia: **But of course.

_You leave the training hall and head to the lower floor of dorms. Standing outside of the rooms is Hegias. You approach him and ask how he is feeling._

**Hegias: **Me? Oh, I’m fine… No need to worry about me, Professor. I’m peachy as can be.

**Seraphine: **Nobody uses the word ‘peachy’ anymore, Hegias. If you’re going to lie to us, you might as well try to do it better than that.

**Hegias: **If I need anything, I’ll be sure to tell you though. See you later!

_You walk away, seeing Hegias is not in the mood to talk. Further down in the row of dorms, You encounter Kyle and Nora._

**Kyle: **I’m happy I was able to patch you up after that incident you had in the training hall a few days ago.

**Nora: **Incident? Ha! You mean when you tripped and made my axe bruise my arm on the way down?

**Kyle: **L-Listen, I didn’t mean to--

**Nora: **I’m just messing with you. You know, you could use some lightening up from time to time. I know you flirt with people and take that seriously, but actually relaxing would do you some good.

**Kyle: **You really think so?

**Nora: **I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t.

**Kyle: **Good point… Alright. I’ll try it.

**Nora: **Good boy.

_You enter the greenhouse, where You encounter Nesreen._

**Nesreen: **I’m set to join you on your mission this coming month, Professor… Lady Aisa wants me to gather as much information about the Columbus territory dealings as possible. Me coming along is the best way to learn things like that. I hope that’s alright with you, because I’m coming along either way.

_You tell her that You are happy to have her._

**Nesreen: **I’m glad we agree on that then.

_You leave the greenhouse and go to the fishing hole. You encounter two people standing together, who show themselves to be Derric and Kaeta._

**Derric: **So, how are you doing now that you’re working with the professor?

**Kaeta: **I can already tell that I’m getting better! It’s so much better than just sitting around on my tail all day.

**Derric: **If you’re being allowed out, this bodes well for the rest of us knights. If Lady Aisa is permitting you to fight…

**Kaeta: **...Then maybe the rest of you will follow. I hope so. You deserve that as good fighters.

_You walk away from Derric and Kaeta. Just outside the dining hall, You see Yuliya and Wynne._

**Yuliya: **Gods above, I’m so hungry…

**Wynne: **Then why don’t you go in and get some food?

**Yuliya: **I can’t just do that. Everybody in there would kill me.

**Wynne: **Then why don’t you ask a student for help?

**Yuliya: **I can’t do that either. They could mock me for it.

**Wynne: **You have so little faith in people… You should try to be a bit less grouchy.

**Yuliya: **Excuse me?

**Wynne: **Oh, nothing…

_You enter the dining hall. Inside, You see Aestlyn and Adeline eating together._

**Aestlyn: **I saw you dancing in the cathedral the other day, you know.

**Adeline: **You… You did?

**Aestlyn: **Yeah. If you ever want a partner to perform with, I like to sing. Maybe we could help each other out some.

**Adeline: **You mean it?

**Aestlyn: **Of course!

**Adeline: **Then… Can we go practice soon?

**Aestlyn: **If you want to!

_You leave Adeline and Aestlyn to their conversation, approaching Polly, who is standing alone._

**Polly: **I hope this month isn’t the sign of everything going to hell like the past few months. I’ve had enough of everything going horribly wrong. Can’t we have one good thing happen once in a while?

_You say that you hope for the same._

**Polly: **I hope things change soon for both our sakes…

_You leave the dining hall and head to the marketplace. Once there, You see Adrian shopping._

**Adrian: **Wow… They just got in a new shipment of trinkets, Professor. There’s stuff from Brigid, Albinea, Almyra, Dagda… I might prefer being here at the monastery to hanging out back home, but it doesn’t hurt to have something to remind me of what once was… Or what could be…

_While in the marketplace, You also encounter Zelhira._

**Zelhira: **This is the busiest area of the monastery… It can get a bit overwhelming, I must admit. I’m happy I can get in and out without any issues… I do feel bad for the merchants. I would never be able to survive in this kind of chaos.

_You leave behind the marketplace to go to the entrance hall. Once there, You see Aquillus._

**Aquillus: **With all that’s been happening, I fear the world slipping into war… It’s been ages since our continent was plunged into the fires of battle, the last time being the war between Adrestia, Brigid, and Dagda… I do hope nothing like that repeats itself… If you want to get technical, Albinea and Faerghus are battling right now as well, but it’s not on our soil… I pray the fighting doesn’t come here.

_You also run into Magnolia in the entrance hall._

**Magnolia: **I’ve come so far as a person this school year… It’s so strange to think that it’s almost halfway over already. It’s passed by in the blink of an eye. I just hope that things don’t escalate further than they already have this year. We’re struggling enough as it is.

_The third and final person You find in the entrance hall is Piers._

**Piers: **Lucky Kaeta, getting to go out into the field while the rest of us are stuck here… I don’t understand why Lady Aisa decided to send the youngest among us out to fight. I know she thinks when she makes important choices, but I don’t like this at all.

_You leave the entrance hall to head to the reception hall. Inside, You run into Falon and Illona talking._

**Falon: **You know, Illona, I think we should work on your confidence.

**Illona: **What? Why?

**Falon: **If you’re more confident, maybe you won’t need to lie quite as much.

**Illona: **I don’t lie…

**Falon: **Really? We all know it.

**Illona: **Um… I need to go… Buy a dagger for my five cats back at home. They love… Dull objects. Bye!

**Falon: **That’s just what I’m talking about!

_While in the reception hall, You run into Sofia and Cedric._

**Sofia: **Why are you looking over my shoulder like that?

**Cedric: **I’m not. I just happened to pass by.

**Sofia: **This is a private letter from my mother. Don’t pry.

**Cedric: **I’m not trying to--

**Sofia: **Then quit seeming like you are!

**Cedric: **M-My apologies…

_You leave the reception hall to head to the knights’ hall. Once there, You see Cordelia and Rodain together._

**Cordelia: **Lady Aisa has been preparing us for a potential attack on the monastery.

**Rodain: **Why does she think that is going to happen?

**Cordelia: **I don’t know, but I trust her judgement.

**Rodain: **As much as I hate to say it, she’s probably right…

**Cordelia: **We just need to be ready. Can you do that?

**Rodain: **Of course, Captain Torryn.

**Cordelia: **Glad to hear it.

_You run into Karim in the knights’ hall next._

**Karim: **I came in here hoping a knight would be able to spar with me, but I haven’t run into anybody… I really need to refine my skills, but I can’t without any help.

_You offer to help Karim out when You get the chance._

**Karim: **Thanks, Professor. I really appreciate the offer.

_You go to the stables next. Inside, You see Lev._

**Lev: **Look at you, Travant… All this stress is clearly taking its toll on you… Poor thing. I’m sorry you have to suffer like this… I’ll stay here as long as you need me to…

_Sensing Lev does not wish to be interrupted, You approach the other person in the stables: William._

**William: **I wish we had more luck when it came to finding out information… Instead, we’re being forced into the most dangerous territory of the continent to learn more… Stay safe out there, alright? I don’t want anybody getting hurt.

_You nod before walking away. You head to the cathedral, and once there, You see Tuncay and Chris talking._

**Tuncay: **My folks sent me another message. Apparently, your father is acting up and sending troops to my town to make sure people don’t ‘act out of line’... Pathetic.

**Chris: **I don’t know if he’ll be willing to listen to me, but if I can get the chance to get him off your back, I’ll tell him to leave you and your people alone.

**Tuncay: **It’s like you’re the only noble in Adrestia with any actual common sense! It’s so frustrating!

**Chris: **Well, at least one person in my family needs to not be a piece of garbage.

**Tuncay: **You know, I never would have expected the imperial princess of all people to be so anti-nobility.

**Chris: **If you’d met the nobles of Adrestia, you would be too.

_You go upstairs to the second floor of the monastery. You go to the library, where You see Niko and Jill talking._

**Niko: **I’ve been looking into the Columbus territory’s history to match the theme of this month’s mission, but I’ve come up short each time.

**Jill: **As I suspected… The Canis Mafia covers its tracks too well to track. How aggravating…

**Niko: **But we can keep searching… After I take a nap. I’m absolutely exhausted.

**Jill: **...You’ve been looking for twenty minutes.

**Niko: **Exhausted…

**Jill: **Of course you are.

_After spending time in the library, You move to the cardinals’ room. There, You see Reese and Herwig together._

**Reese: **It’s been ages since I’ve seen the noble life, but I still know all about the Columbus territory scandal.

**Herwig: **Who doesn’t? Columbus is the worst place on the continent. I’ve been separated from my status for quite some time as well, and I still know it fully well.

**Reese: **I don’t understand how people can be that dreadful…

**Herwig: **Well… I guess some people are just like that… Unfortunately.

**Reese: **Yeah… It is unfortunate.

_Finally, You go to Aisa’s room, and You see her standing with Roy._

**Aisa: **Professor, I must wish you good luck for the coming month. A lot is going to be happening soon.

**Roy: **Be sure to watch your back. We can’t have you getting hurt on the way to Columbus territory.

**Aisa: **Stay on your toes… If any month’s mission is going to go wrong, it will be this one.

**Roy: **Make sure you’re prepared before setting out.

_After finishing your conversation with Aisa and Roy, You start back to your room alongside Seraphine._

**Seraphine: **Well, I’m not feeling optimistic about this mission… I guess all we can do for now is rest. Can’t fight back if we’re too exhausted to engage in battle and all that. I know I need some rest… From all the crap that’s happening around us.

_You arrive back at your room._

**Seraphine: **Well… Goodnight, Professor.

_You sleep much earlier than You originally expected to. You don’t realize how tired You are until your face hits the pillow. You have no dreams that night, but You know when You wake up, You will have to face issues of Columbus territory, Malice, and the Canis Mafia… Uncertainty rests in your future, and You are not sure if You are ready to face it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean why have the battle of the eagle and lion in October when you could have plot
> 
> -Digital


	42. Chapter Seven: Fangs of Corruption II (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Golden Deer set out to Columbus territory.

_You arrive at the Golden Deer classroom the day of the mission. Jill and Kaeta are inside with the students and Nesreen._

**Jill: **Well… I guess it’s time for us to go out and take care of business.

**Raithius: **I’m glad to see you’re joining us, Nesreen.

**Nesreen: **Lady Aisa wants me to learn as much as I can about the Columbus territory and all that it’s involved with.

**Kaeta: **The Canis Mafia is dangerous, and the church needs to know how to approach it.

**Novalee: **That is a wise decision on her part.

**Cedric: **This man is not a noble in any way… I can’t believe him.

**Sofia: **Who cares about how noble he is? He’s not our target anyways.

**Lev: **Sofia has a point… We’re supposed to be dealing with Malice here.

**William: **She’s right. Getting in too deep with the mafia is asking for disaster.

**Adeline: **Yeah… They’ll do anything to hurt us.

**Wolfgang: **I’m terrified out of my mind to go back there, to be perfectly honest…

**Jill: **We don’t have any reasons to stay around here when the world at large awaits us. We should head out.

**Kaeta: **I don’t know what to think about any of this, but I know I have a bad feeling about it.

**Nesreen: **If Lady Aisa wants information, that’s what she’s going to get.

**Raithius: **Malice is involved with Columbus, and I’m not going to let them get away with this.

**Novalee: **Last month didn’t earn us any new information, but this is going to be different.

**Sofia: **Yeah, Nova’s right. We’re going to go even further beyond this time!

**Lev: **I just hope we don’t die in the process.

**Cedric: **I heard Lady Aisa sent a message ahead of us to say that the mafia is not at all involved in this investigation.

**William: **And yet, Nesreen is coming along to check it out… Good way to hide our true intentions, I suppose.

**Adeline: **Let’s go and get this over with… The less time spent there, the better.

**Wolfgang: **At least we won’t have to talk to the mafia.

**Jill: **I agree… Off we go. Chop, chop.

_The students leave with Jill, Nesreen, and Kaeta. You follow after them as Seraphine speaks._

**Seraphine: **I don’t like this at all… In fact, just the idea of doing all this makes me want to scream. Canis is dangerous… That’s all I’ve heard about them, and it’s scary… I guess we won’t know what to do until after we take them on.

_You nod. Soon enough, the party leaves the monastery behind._

_You arrive in Columbus territory in Leicester a few hours later. The buildings are all rundown, nearly falling apart. The streets are crowded and dirty. You cringe at the smell of the filth._

**Seraphine: **It smells rotten… Yuck.

**Kaeta: **I think I’m going to be sick…

**Nesreen: **Good old Columbus… Disgusting as always, I see…

**Wolfgang: **And yet, so many people call this place home…

**Lev: **I think it’s more of where their houses are located than an actual home, if that makes any sense.

**Sofia: **I get it, yeah… They live here, but they aren’t thriving.

**Cedric: **The Canis Mafia has driven this place to the ground… It’s awful.

**William: **I can’t believe that people would actually sink to these low levels… It’s exploitation.

**Adeline: **It’s revolting too. I don’t know how else to put it.

**Raithius: **I can’t wait to take over the Alliance…

**Novalee:** Soon enough, you will.

**Jill: **It seems we’ve found one of our little friends here.

_A man approaches You and the party. His name is Aron._

**Aron: **What are you doing here in Columbus?

**Seraphine: **I remember him! He showed up last month! He was one of the soldiers who ran away!

**Jill: **We are here to see Malice.

**Nesreen: **Would you be part of the Canis Mafia?

**Kaeta: **We hold no ill will towards you.

**Aron: **Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not.

**Raithius: **Who sent you here?

**Aron: **Maybe this will show you.

_Aron holds up his hand, and a tattoo of a wolf can be seen._

**Novalee: **That’s the mark of Canis…

**Wolfgang: **You’re from the mafia…!

**Aron: **And you aren’t supposed to be here.

**Adeline: **It looks like Lord Columbus decided to send them after us regardless…

**Lev: **There’s Malice soldiers thrown in there too…

**Cedric: **That’s not all. They have emblems from both Malice and Canis on their clothing… I guess they’re a lot more connected than we thought.

**William: **Attacking only Malice wasn’t possible since they aren’t exclusive.

**Sofia: **I guess our hopes of getting out of this peacefully are out the window now.

**Nesreen: **So be it then. If we have to fight our way out of here, we will.

**Kaeta: **I doubt that they’re the most powerful fighters… If you ask me, they probably sent inexperienced people here.

**Raithius: **After all, they’re good enough that their weakest people can handle us… Pathetic.

**Sofia: **Well, I’ll make sure they think twice about underestimating us then.

**Cedric: **This is what they deserve.

**Lev: **Please don’t end horribly…

**Adeline: **We’re ready for this… Keep up a defensive position.

**Nesreen: **I need to gather some information. Cover for me, will you?

**Jill: **Of course.

**Wolfgang: **Stay safe!

**William: **Let’s take care of business.

**Novalee: **Golden Deer! We fight!

_The battle begins. The Golden Deer fight with a new air of ferocity, and You must admit that You are impressed to see them fighting so intensely. You cannot help but be satisfied with how much they have learned. Nesreen floats around far from the main group, sneaking and opening chests when she can._

_If You initiate combat with Aron, this dialogue plays out._

**Aron: **You seem to be the leader of this motley crew… Well, you made a mistake by bringing them here. I’m going to make sure you know it too!

_If Raithius initiates combat with Aron, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **I can’t believe Canis has gone this far.

**Aron: **You can’t believe it? Ha… You, of all people, should believe it.

**Raithius: **What do you mean?

**Aron: **Oh, nothing… You’ll find out soon enough. After all, you aren’t the only one in your family to go up against Canis.

**Raithius: **What--

**Aron: **That’s enough. Let’s end this.

_If Novalee initiates combat with Aron, this dialogue plays out._

**Novalee: **I must say, I’m not shocked with this behavior, but I’m still disappointed.

**Aron: **Of course you are… All you higher nobles always are.

**Novalee: **You’re part of a criminal organization. In fact, it’s the worst criminal organization on the continent.

**Aron: **And what of it?

**Novalee: **I don’t know why I’m attempting to reason with you. There’s no point to it.

**Aron: **I’m glad you see that. Now, let’s end this mess.

_If Wolfgang initiates combat with Aron, this dialogue plays out._

**Aron: **Well, what have we here? You look just like the boss does.

**Wolfgang: **The boss?

**Aron: **The boss. Wenlock Columbus. The lord of this territory… In fact, you look like you could be his sister, if she was much younger. Blonde hair, blue eyes, similar height…

**Wolfgang: **What are you on about?

**Aron: **Feisty, are we? It doesn’t matter anyways. Let’s end this.

_If Nesreen initiates combat with Aron, this dialogue plays out._

**Nesreen: **You’re a member of the mafia, are you not?

**Aron: **That I am. What about it?

**Nesreen: **What is your plan? Why did you attack us?

**Aron: **I didn’t order any of this. It was all up to the boss.

**Nesreen: **Then why did he do it?

**Aron: **Because you can’t prove anything. He could take care of you nosy kids and say it was such a tragedy that it happened because of Malice.

**Nesreen: **What?

**Aron: **There’s no evidence. He ordered us to do this, but he didn’t leave a scrap behind that would incriminate him. You’re as good as screwed.

**Nesreen: **...I’ll make that decision for myself, thank you very much.

**Aron: **Alright, alright… Let’s do this then.

_If anyone else initiates combat with Aron, this dialogue plays out._

**Aron: **You’re going to pay for interfering with Canis!

_When Aron is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Aron: **You… Little punks… I can’t believe you… Canis will roast your soul in hell…

_After the battle, You stand with the Golden Deer, Jill, Kaeta, and Nesreen._

**Nesreen: **I haven’t found any evidence that Lord Columbus ordered this fight.

**Jill: **He told the mafia to go after us.

**Kaeta: **Yeah, but without any evidence, what can we do?

**Raithius: **We can’t do much, as much as I hate to say it. If we went forward about it, it would cause a fight.

**Sofia: **If the church believed it, they could attack. If they attack, Canis will retaliate without a shred of mercy.

**Lev: **And if people think the church lashed out without a reason, they’ll turn against us.

**Cedric: **That would only hurt us more…

**Adeline: **All we can do is sit on our hands for now then…

**William: **They’re too strong for us to take out…

**Wolfgang: **I hate that we can’t do anything…

**Novalee: **I don’t know if we’ll be able to do anything ever, if I’m being honest.

**Raithius: **We might have to sit on our hands for now, but it won’t always be like this.

**Kaeta: **What makes you so sure?

**Cedric: **One day, we’ll be able to topple this organization once and for all.

**Wolfgang: **And then the territory may once again know peace…

**Jill: **Don’t take this as a reason to act stupid right now.

**Nesreen: **Yeah. We really can’t deal with the stupidity of children now.

**Lev: **Aren’t you even younger than us…?

**Adeline: **I think we should get out of here as soon as possible.

**William: **The longer we stay around here, the more danger we’re in.

**Sofia: **If there’s no reason for us to stick around, we should get back to the monastery.

**Novalee: **If we stay here for a long time, they might get ideas about attacking again.

**Raithius: **If you ask me, there’s some important stuff that we’ve learned… Well, one important thing.

**Kaeta: **And what would that be?

**Novalee: **You mean that Lord Columbus is surely involved in Malice.

**Sofia: **If he’s been contributing troops to Malice, that could have him charged as a criminal when the church gets around to taking care of things.

**Cedric: **I see… That’s a good point.

**William: **His involvement is important to remember.

**Lev: **What can we even do about it now?

**Nesreen: **Who cares? We’ll take care of it one day.

**Jill: **For now, we should get out of here.

**Adeline: **If he’s involved like Bazler was, chances are a few other nobles are tied into this as well.

**Wolfgang: **The more nobles that are involved, the worse things are for us…

**Raithius: **Nobles have a lot of power, and if they’re in shady business, the common people are in trouble.

**Nesreen: **Ugh… What are they even good for?

**Cedric: **Good nobles protect the people and help others!

**Lev: **But bad nobles cause problems for everyone…

**Jill: **Bloodline allows these bumbling fools to come to power without anyone checking them.

**Kaeta: **We’re seeing now how that’s bad.

**William: **I don’t think we should talk about this stuff here.

**Novalee: **I agree. If they attack, we’re going to suffer some losses given our weakened state.

**Adeline: **We simply don’t have the forces to stand up to them right now.

**Sofia: **I hate that you’re right.

**Wolfgang: **Come on then. Let’s go.

**Jill: **We need to move in a timely manner. We found out what we needed to.

**Sofia: **Malice is being housed by Lord Columbus.

**Cedric: **Multiple nobles are conspiring towards something.

**Lev: **I don’t know what their plan is, but it can’t be good.

**Raithius: **We’ll just have to find it out later on then.

**William: **I don’t see anyone nearby… We should be safe to escape.

**Nesreen: **I sure do hope that’s true.

**Kaeta: **I’m sick of fighting.

**Adeline: **I feel the same…

**Wolfgang: **Goodbye, Columbus…

**Novalee: **It’s for the best.

_The group starts to walk away, and You follow them._

**Seraphine: **I wonder how many other nobles are tied into this… I have to wonder if nobles are really worth it if we keep having issues with them. First Bazler, now this guy… It’s not like the royals of Faerghus and Adrestia are great either. What’s the point of a system that doesn’t work properly?

_You say You do not know._

**Seraphine: **Whatever… Let’s just get back to the monastery. I don’t want to think about this now.

_You travel back to the monastery, and upon arriving You go to see Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **Professor, you’re back… What have you learned?

_You say that You were attacked by soldiers bearing symbols of Malice and Canis._

**Roy: **It’s just as we feared then… The Columbus territory is part of Malice, and the Canis Mafia is being used to fuel it.

**Aisa: **How awful… I cannot say I’m surprised, unfortunately.

**Roy: **If two nobles are tied with Malice, I doubt it’s just them… Two of the three nations have noble with connections to Malice. It wouldn’t surprise me if Faerghus had ties as well.

**Aisa: **We can’t afford to fight back now. The Canis Mafia is dangerous, and if we lash out, they’ll destroy us.

**Roy: **Their secret connections are far too dangerous to dare stand up against right now.

**Aisa: **I agree, as much as I wish we could fight…

**Roy: **We’ll get the chance one day.

**Aisa: **Until then, we need to train the students.

**Roy: **Do you think they’ll have to fight back with us?

**Aisa: **They might… War is coming soon if Malice is not stopped.

**Roy: **We need to take them out soon to prevent that.

**Aisa: **The students may be forced to join us in the battle to end this.

**Roy: **I trust you’ll train them well, Professor.

_You nod._

**Aisa: **We trust in your decisions.

**Roy: **Speaking of, you should likely go back to them.

**Aisa: **Yes. You need to wind down the day with them.

**Roy: **We’ll approach you if you need to talk about anything.

**Aisa: **Have a nice night, Professor.

**Roy: **We’ll be seeing you.

_You nod and walk away from the room to head to the classroom of the Golden Deer as Seraphine speaks._

**Seraphine: **They had better know what they’re doing… Going on a mission but not getting much out of it is getting frustrated. It’s like we have a million paths to go down but haven’t pursued any. It’s getting aggravating… Please end this already.

_You arrive at the classroom, hiding your agreement with Seraphine. Inside, You see the students standing with Jill, Kaeta, and Nesreen._

**Raithius: **Well, that’s the end of that.

**Novalee: **There’s not much to do. We learned more information, but we can’t act on it.

**Kaeta: **You mean we can’t act on it yet.

**Sofia: **One day, we will.

**Wolfgang: **My home deserves to be freed from that tyranny.

**Cedric: **I agree fully.

**William: **We’ll show them who really deserves to have power here.

**Lev: **They can’t be allowed to remain in power…

**Nesreen: **And they won’t. But we can’t fight back now.

**Jill: **Go on and rest. We need to train harder in the future.

**Raithius: **I agree. I’ll see you guys later.

**Wolfgang: **Have a nice night.

**Sofia: **I’ll try to, at the very least.

**Lev: **Good luck sleeping… I’ll be struggling for sure.

**Adeline: **Somehow, I think we all will.

**Cedric: **We’ll end this mess soon enough.

**William: **I sure hope so…

**Novalee: **Goodnight.

**Jill: **Class dismissed.

_The students leave the room aside from Raithius and Novalee. Jill, Kaeta, and Nesreen leave too._

**Raithius: **I’m going to get rid of Canis.

**Novalee: **What brought this on?

**Raithius: **I realized something… The time that my father went missing… It matches up perfectly with when Columbus territory expanded.

**Novalee: **You think he’s somehow tied into this?

**Raithius: **I’m positive. He has to be.

**Novalee: **I understand that logic… Lord Columbus is a monster.

**Raithius: **And one I won’t let get away with this.

**Novalee: **I’ll stand by you every step of the way.

**Raithius: **Thanks, Nova… I don’t know what I’d do without you.

**Novalee: **That goes double in return.

**Raithius: **Professor… I would love it if you would help us out with finding the truth.

**Novalee:** We both want to know the truth behind what happened to his father.

**Raithius: **But we can’t do it without help.

**Novalee: **The deer are with us already, but we want you to help us.

**Raithius: **So… What do you say?

_You say You will help them out if You get the chance to after the year._

**Novalee: **That’s all we ask.

**Raithius: **Well, it’s late. We should get to sleep.

**Novalee: **Goodnight, Professor.

_Raithius and Novalee walk away as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Wow… That sure does change things… We’ll have to help them out if we can. I’m ready for this, and I’m sure you are too.

_You nod and start to head back to your room, which is when Nesreen appears before You._

**Nesreen: **Professor, I have new orders. I’m going to stay with you from here on out. Lady Aisa told me so, and I’m not going against her wishes. You’re not going to either. I hope that’s okay with you, because you have no options.

_You tell Nesreen You would be happy to have her._

**Nesreen: **Great. I’m going to follow you around regardless of the class you pick at the start of the month. That means I’ll be seeing you soon. Goodnight, Professor.

_You watch as Nesreen walks away, and Seraphine speaks once more._

**Seraphine: **Well, I’m glad to see she’s enthusiastic… She’s right about us getting to sleep. Let’s go rest.

_You nod and head back to your room._

**Seraphine: **I don’t know what to do from here… All we can do is wait. Until the time comes, we need to work as hard as possible. I’m going to be here with you no matter what, even if the world is full of uncertainty around us. Have a nice night.

_You fall asleep quickly. You cannot help but wonder what the future will hold, and You are filled with uncertainty out of nervousness. Seraphine is right in thinking that You will have one another no matter what. You fall asleep soon after, dreaming of the upsetting future and how it could impact You. Even if the rest of the year is a mystery, You know that You will come out of it so long as You have faith in your students, coworkers, and Seraphine. You are not alone, and that isn’t going to change no matter what. You feel your faith in Seraphine surge as You give into slumber… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so groggy why did I wait until 1 AM to post this 
> 
> -Digital


	43. Chapter Seven: Fangs of Corruption I (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You explore the monastery after being given a mission in Columbus territory.

_You wake up on the first day of the Wyvern Moon, seeing Seraphine beside You._

**Seraphine: **Here’s to hoping that we can get into Columbus territory at long last… If you ask me, we’ve been waiting far too long to take care of that man. We found out about him when we first encountered Bazler, which feels like it was ages ago… I guess everything feels like ages when you’ve forgotten more than eighteen years of your life, not that we have a perfectly accurate statement on your age.

_You walk to the room where Aisa and Roy are found, Seraphine following You._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor.

**Roy: **We’re finally ready to send you off to Columbus territory this month. I’m glad to say that we’ve finally been given the chance to take care of him.

**Seraphine: **It’s about time! I’ve been waiting for this… It’s about time that we got the chance to make sure that dastard got what he deserved.

**Aisa: **Since you don’t know much about our land as a whole, perhaps it would be best if we explained the full story behind Columbus territory.

**Roy: **Once, about twenty-five years ago, there was no Columbus territory. It was instead a part of Origo lands, making it part of the ruling power’s territory. There was no Columbus family either.

**Aisa: **The man that now rules over Columbus was born to the Chevalier family, which can be found in Faerghus territory. There were two children in the Chevalier house: Stanton and Cliona. Stanton was known to be cruel despite his kind parents raising him well, and even if he was older, the ruling power was passed to his sister instead of him since his parents thought she would be better at ruling.

**Roy: **Stanton left Chevalier lands out of anger. He took Origo lands by force and changed his name to Wenlock Columbus, becoming the land of the territory. He took once powerful, luscious territory and made it into a horrible place.

**Aisa: **Columbus territory is widely assumed to be the worst place on the continent. Not even Bazler territory can hold a candle to it.

**Seraphine: **You have to be pretty bad if even if a human trafficking ring can’t stand up to you…

**Roy: **Lord Columbus has heavy ties with the Canis Mafia, a group that took power in Leicester around the time that he came to power. It’s implied that Columbus either leads them or is greatly associated with the one who holds the strength in the group.

**Seraphine: **A mafia… Wow. I guess that we will have more to deal with than just Malice after all. I’m not exactly happy about it, but there’s not much we can do about it now.

**Aisa: **Your job this month will be to get into Columbus territory and take out the forces that have been threatening Leicester.

**Roy: **Canis has only survived thus far because nobody believes they can take it out. However, you are not going on a mission to fight Canis. Your job here is to fight Malice.

**Aisa: **If Canis realizes that Malice is what you want, they will leave Malice behind to save their own skins.

**Roy: **That’s how Lord Columbus works… Wenlock Columbus is a cowardly man, you know. I don’t know how else to put it.

**Aisa: **Regardless of how he behaves though, you’ll be tasked with taking him on in the coming month. I trust that you can take care of such, yes?

_You nod in response._

**Aisa: **I knew we could count on you, Professor.

**Roy: **It seems to me like it’s time for you to pick your house for the month, Professor.

_You start to think about what faction You wish to follow, eventually settling on the Blue Lions._

**Aisa: **You wish to go with the Blue Lions this month?

_You nod._

**Roy: **Understood. You should head over to the classroom now then.

**Aisa: **All the students are already aware of what the plan is for the month, though they don’t know who will be going to take care of Malice.

**Roy: **I trust you’ll lead them well as you always do.

**Aisa: **Good luck.

_You leave the room, Seraphine at your side._

**Seraphine: **You know what I’m thinking of all this? I don’t like it one bit. There’s so much at stake here. Even if we aren’t going to be clashing directly with the mafia, I don’t trust them to leave us alone as we target Malice. Canis sounds dangerous… Should we really put the kids in danger this way?

_You tell Seraphine that You won’t let anything happen to any of the students._

**Seraphine: **Yeah… I know. I guess I’m just worried anyways. I can’t really help it. I guess I’m getting attached to the little ones now, just like you are.

_You arrive outside the Blue Lions homeroom and go inside slowly._

**Reese: **Hey there, Professor.

**Magnolia: **Columbus lands… As much as I hate to say it, I got the feeling we’d be setting out for that place eventually.

**Cassia: **I don’t like this one bit.

**Aestlyn: **Have you been there before?

**Cassia: **I have… It wasn’t for long, but it was enough as far as I’m concerned. It’s dangerous due to the influence of the Canis group.

**Illona: **I don’t understand the church’s logic here.

**Kyle: **Lady Aisa must know what she’s doing.

**Falon: **The church must have a plan.

**Karim: **You’ll have to excuse me for not having as much confidence as the rest of you… I’m a bit nervous. This is a bad idea.

**Nora: **Columbus territory is miserable… Everybody knows that regardless of if they’ve been or not. Why are we going without backup?

**Reese: **I heard that somebody else is supposed to come along this month, but I haven’t got confirmation on who yet.

**Falon: **That doesn’t make me feel much better, but I guess it’s a small improvement over what I assumed at first.

**Illona: **How can you not be nervous thinking about him?

**Karim:** I haven’t ever gone to his lands… Any ideas on what it’s like?

**Nora: **To put it simply, it’s miserable. People live in constant fear of the Canis Mafia killing them for some petty thing.

**Cassia: **Lord Columbus is a dictator, plain and simple.

**Aestlyn: **Just hearing about it is too much for me…

**Magnolia: **I wish we had other options…

**Kyle: **I feel sick just imagining it.

**Karim: **I can’t blame you for that.

**Nora:** If the church believes we have this under control, I guess we’ll just have to trust them.

**Illona: **We aren’t fighting the mafia anyways… We have to deal with Malice. Hopefully, they’ll leave us alone.

**Aestlyn: **I pray that happens for all our sakes… That’s much less dangerous than facing Canis ourselves.

**Magnolia: **I couldn’t even begin to start listing off their crimes… Murder, arson, theft, trafficking…

**Falon: **I’m sure there’s more inside the group that they’re hiding.

**Kyle: **We need to take care of the mafia eventually, but we don’t have the power to do it now. Let’s just fight Malice off.

**Reese:** You can handle that at a later date… All of you can. We need to avoid that trouble for right now.

**Magnolia: **One of these days, we’ll be finished with him.

**Falon: **We’ll be there for you when that time comes.

**Cassia: **They can’t be allowed to press on.

**Aestlyn:** I’d be glad to help out if you’ll have me.

**Illona: **I feel the same.

**Karim: **I guess we’ve all got the same plan then.

**Kyle: **Lord Columbus is a pathetic man.

**Nora: **But he’s still one with a Crest…

**Reese: **We’re finished talking for now.

**Cassia:** If that’s all, I’m going to be on my way.

**Kyle: **I have things to take care of today.

**Nora: **I’ll see you all later.

**Karim: **I wonder what we’re going to find.

**Aestlyn: **We won’t know until it’s time for us to invade.

**Reese: **Until then, we have work to do.

**Illona: **Off we go then…

**Magnolia: **I’ll see you all later!

**Falon: **Have a nice day, everyone!

_The students leave with Reese._

**Seraphine: **I really don’t like the idea of this... But there’s not much we can do now. Let’s go and look around.

_You nod your agreement and leave the classroom to start exploring the monastery._

_The first people You run into after leaving the classroom are Wolfgang, Raithius, and Novalee, who are all standing together in the Officers Academy courtyard._

**Wolfgang: **I’m sure I’m fine. I’ve told you guys three times already.

**Novalee: **You don’t seem all that fine.

**Raithius: **You know you can trust us, right?

**Wolfgang: **I’m okay. Really. If I wasn’t, I would tell you.

**Novalee: **Why do I somehow doubt that?

**Raithius: **Alright, alright… We’ll leave you alone… For now.

_You leave the Officers Academy courtyard to go to the training hall. Inside, You encounter Callisto and Florence._

**Callisto: **I’ve been putting in as much work as possible to master this dagger move, but I still can’t get it.

**Florence: **Then why don’t you try it on me? With a practice weapon, of course.

**Callisto: **I guess that might work better than a dummy…

**Florence: **Oh, please. Whether it’s made of a sack or not, your target will still be a dummy.

**Callisto: **But still a dummy I really care about.

**Florence: **Aw, you’re too sweet…

_The other people in the training hall are revealed to be Cassia and Miriam when You get closer._

**Cassia: **You’ve mastered flying and fighting at the same time, yes?

**Miriam: **I have… It took a lot of practice, but anything that wants to be good needs refining in some way or another.

**Cassia: **Would you be willing to help me take the reins one day?

**Miriam: **Perhaps… If you show me you’re ready first.

**Cassia: **But of course.

_You leave the training hall and head to the lower floor of dorms. Standing outside of the rooms is Hegias. You approach him and ask how he is feeling._

**Hegias: **Me? Oh, I’m fine… No need to worry about me, Professor. I’m peachy as can be.

**Seraphine: **Nobody uses the word ‘peachy’ anymore, Hegias. If you’re going to lie to us, you might as well try to do it better than that.

**Hegias: **If I need anything, I’ll be sure to tell you though. See you later!

_You walk away, seeing Hegias is not in the mood to talk. Further down in the row of dorms, You encounter Kyle and Nora._

**Kyle: **I’m happy I was able to patch you up after that incident you had in the training hall a few days ago.

**Nora: **Incident? Ha! You mean when you tripped and made my axe bruise my arm on the way down?

**Kyle: **L-Listen, I didn’t mean to--

**Nora: **I’m just messing with you. You know, you could use some lightening up from time to time. I know you flirt with people and take that seriously, but actually relaxing would do you some good.

**Kyle: **You really think so?

**Nora: **I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t.

**Kyle: **Good point… Alright. I’ll try it.

**Nora: **Good boy.

_You enter the greenhouse, where You encounter Nesreen._

**Nesreen: **I’m set to join you on your mission this coming month, Professor… Lady Aisa wants me to gather as much information about the Columbus territory dealings as possible. Me coming along is the best way to learn things like that. I hope that’s alright with you, because I’m coming along either way.

_You tell her that You are happy to have her._

**Nesreen: **I’m glad we agree on that then.

_You leave the greenhouse and go to the fishing hole. You encounter two people standing together, who show themselves to be Derric and Kaeta._

**Derric: **So, how are you doing now that you’re working with the professor?

**Kaeta: **I can already tell that I’m getting better! It’s so much better than just sitting around on my tail all day.

**Derric: **If you’re being allowed out, this bodes well for the rest of us knights. If Lady Aisa is permitting you to fight…

**Kaeta: **...Then maybe the rest of you will follow. I hope so. You deserve that as good fighters.

_You walk away from Derric and Kaeta. Just outside the dining hall, You see Yuliya and Wynne._

**Yuliya: **Gods above, I’m so hungry…

**Wynne: **Then why don’t you go in and get some food?

**Yuliya: **I can’t just do that. Everybody in there would kill me.

**Wynne: **Then why don’t you ask a student for help?

**Yuliya: **I can’t do that either. They could mock me for it.

**Wynne: **You have so little faith in people… You should try to be a bit less grouchy.

**Yuliya: **Excuse me?

**Wynne: **Oh, nothing…

_You enter the dining hall. Inside, You see Aestlyn and Adeline eating together._

**Aestlyn: **I saw you dancing in the cathedral the other day, you know.

**Adeline: **You… You did?

**Aestlyn: **Yeah. If you ever want a partner to perform with, I like to sing. Maybe we could help each other out some.

**Adeline: **You mean it?

**Aestlyn: **Of course!

**Adeline: **Then… Can we go practice soon?

**Aestlyn: **If you want to!

_You leave Adeline and Aestlyn to their conversation, approaching Polly, who is standing alone._

**Polly: **I hope this month isn’t the sign of everything going to hell like the past few months. I’ve had enough of everything going horribly wrong. Can’t we have one good thing happen once in a while?

_You say that you hope for the same._

**Polly: **I hope things change soon for both our sakes…

_You leave the dining hall and head to the marketplace. Once there, You see Adrian shopping._

**Adrian: **Wow… They just got in a new shipment of trinkets, Professor. There’s stuff from Brigid, Albinea, Almyra, Dagda… I might prefer being here at the monastery to hanging out back home, but it doesn’t hurt to have something to remind me of what once was… Or what could be…

_While in the marketplace, You also encounter Zelhira._

**Zelhira: **This is the busiest area of the monastery… It can get a bit overwhelming, I must admit. I’m happy I can get in and out without any issues… I do feel bad for the merchants. I would never be able to survive in this kind of chaos.

_You leave behind the marketplace to go to the entrance hall. Once there, You see Aquillus._

**Aquillus: **With all that’s been happening, I fear the world slipping into war… It’s been ages since our continent was plunged into the fires of battle, the last time being the war between Adrestia, Brigid, and Dagda… I do hope nothing like that repeats itself… If you want to get technical, Albinea and Faerghus are battling right now as well, but it’s not on our soil… I pray the fighting doesn’t come here.

_You also run into Magnolia in the entrance hall._

**Magnolia: **I’ve come so far as a person this school year… It’s so strange to think that it’s almost halfway over already. It’s passed by in the blink of an eye. I just hope that things don’t escalate further than they already have this year. We’re struggling enough as it is.

_The third and final person You find in the entrance hall is Piers._

**Piers: **Lucky Kaeta, getting to go out into the field while the rest of us are stuck here… I don’t understand why Lady Aisa decided to send the youngest among us out to fight. I know she thinks when she makes important choices, but I don’t like this at all.

_You leave the entrance hall to head to the reception hall. Inside, You run into Falon and Illona talking._

**Falon: **You know, Illona, I think we should work on your confidence.

**Illona: **What? Why?

**Falon: **If you’re more confident, maybe you won’t need to lie quite as much.

**Illona: **I don’t lie…

**Falon: **Really? We all know it.

**Illona: **Um… I need to go… Buy a dagger for my five cats back at home. They love… Dull objects. Bye!

**Falon: **That’s just what I’m talking about!

_While in the reception hall, You run into Sofia and Cedric._

**Sofia: **Why are you looking over my shoulder like that?

**Cedric: **I’m not. I just happened to pass by.

**Sofia: **This is a private letter from my mother. Don’t pry.

**Cedric: **I’m not trying to--

**Sofia: **Then quit seeming like you are!

**Cedric: **M-My apologies…

_You leave the reception hall to head to the knights’ hall. Once there, You see Cordelia and Rodain together._

**Cordelia: **Lady Aisa has been preparing us for a potential attack on the monastery.

**Rodain: **Why does she think that is going to happen?

**Cordelia: **I don’t know, but I trust her judgement.

**Rodain: **As much as I hate to say it, she’s probably right…

**Cordelia: **We just need to be ready. Can you do that?

**Rodain: **Of course, Captain Torryn.

**Cordelia: **Glad to hear it.

_You run into Karim in the knights’ hall next._

**Karim: **I came in here hoping a knight would be able to spar with me, but I haven’t run into anybody… I really need to refine my skills, but I can’t without any help.

_You offer to help Karim out when You get the chance._

**Karim: **Thanks, Professor. I really appreciate the offer.

_You go to the stables next. Inside, You see Lev._

**Lev: **Look at you, Travant… All this stress is clearly taking its toll on you… Poor thing. I’m sorry you have to suffer like this… I’ll stay here as long as you need me to…

_Sensing Lev does not wish to be interrupted, You approach the other person in the stables: William._

**William: **I wish we had more luck when it came to finding out information… Instead, we’re being forced into the most dangerous territory of the continent to learn more… Stay safe out there, alright? I don’t want anybody getting hurt.

_You nod before walking away. You head to the cathedral, and once there, You see Tuncay and Chris talking._

**Tuncay: **My folks sent me another message. Apparently, your father is acting up and sending troops to my town to make sure people don’t ‘act out of line’... Pathetic.

**Chris: **I don’t know if he’ll be willing to listen to me, but if I can get the chance to get him off your back, I’ll tell him to leave you and your people alone.

**Tuncay: **It’s like you’re the only noble in Adrestia with any actual common sense! It’s so frustrating!

**Chris: **Well, at least one person in my family needs to not be a piece of garbage.

**Tuncay: **You know, I never would have expected the imperial princess of all people to be so anti-nobility.

**Chris: **If you’d met the nobles of Adrestia, you would be too.

_You go upstairs to the second floor of the monastery. You go to the library, where You see Niko and Jill talking._

**Niko: **I’ve been looking into the Columbus territory’s history to match the theme of this month’s mission, but I’ve come up short each time.

**Jill: **As I suspected… The Canis Mafia covers its tracks too well to track. How aggravating…

**Niko: **But we can keep searching… After I take a nap. I’m absolutely exhausted.

**Jill: **...You’ve been looking for twenty minutes.

**Niko: **Exhausted…

**Jill: **Of course you are.

_After spending time in the library, You move to the cardinals’ room. There, You see Reese and Herwig together._

**Reese: **It’s been ages since I’ve seen the noble life, but I still know all about the Columbus territory scandal.

**Herwig: **Who doesn’t? Columbus is the worst place on the continent. I’ve been separated from my status for quite some time as well, and I still know it fully well.

**Reese: **I don’t understand how people can be that dreadful…

**Herwig: **Well… I guess some people are just like that… Unfortunately.

**Reese: **Yeah… It is unfortunate.

_Finally, You go to Aisa’s room, and You see her standing with Roy._

**Aisa: **Professor, I must wish you good luck for the coming month. A lot is going to be happening soon.

**Roy: **Be sure to watch your back. We can’t have you getting hurt on the way to Columbus territory.

**Aisa: **Stay on your toes… If any month’s mission is going to go wrong, it will be this one.

**Roy: **Make sure you’re prepared before setting out.

_After finishing your conversation with Aisa and Roy, You start back to your room alongside Seraphine._

**Seraphine: **Well, I’m not feeling optimistic about this mission… I guess all we can do for now is rest. Can’t fight back if we’re too exhausted to engage in battle and all that. I know I need some rest… From all the crap that’s happening around us.

_You arrive back at your room._

**Seraphine: **Well… Goodnight, Professor.

_You sleep much earlier than You originally expected to. You don’t realize how tired You are until your face hits the pillow. You have no dreams that night, but You know when You wake up, You will have to face issues of Columbus territory, Malice, and the Canis Mafia… Uncertainty rests in your future, and You are not sure if You are ready to face it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going up a day earlier since I'll be out of town for two days
> 
> Awesome
> 
> -Digital


	44. Chapter Seven: Fangs of Corruption II (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Blue Lions set out to Columbus territory.

_You arrive at the Blue Lions classroom the day of the mission. Reese and Kaeta are inside with the students and Nesreen._

**Reese:** It’s time we went to finish this.

**Magnolia:** It’s nice to see you as part of the party, Nesreen.

**Nesreen: **Lady Aisa wants me to learn as much as I can about the Columbus territory and all that it’s involved with.

**Kaeta: **The Canis Mafia is dangerous, and the church needs to know how to approach it.

**Falon: **Lady Aisa made a good decision there.

**Nora: **I can’t believe he’s gotten away with this up to now.

**Kyle: **At least we don’t need to deal with him.

**Illona: **Yeah… Malice is our target, not Canis.

**Karim: **Getting involved with the mafia itself is asking for disaster.

**Aestlyn: **They’ll go out of their way to hurt us if it feeds their desires.

**Cassia:** I’m not looking forward to going there.

**Reese: **We don’t need to stay here. The mission is waiting for us out there, and it isn’t going to finish itself.

**Kaeta: **I don’t know what to think about any of this, but I know I have a bad feeling about it.

**Nesreen: **If Lady Aisa wants information, that’s what she’s going to get.

**Magnolia: **If Malice and Columbus are connected, we’ll find the evidence we need.

**Falon: **We didn’t learn much last month, but that’s all about to change.

**Kyle: **We’re going to take care of things this time.

**Illona: **Here’s hoping we don’t die along the way…

**Cassia: **Lady Aisa sent a message to the Columbus territory that Malice is our only target on the investigation.

**Karim: **Still, we have Nesreen following us to figure out what’s going on… We’ll get information regardless.

**Aestlyn: **Let’s finish this already.

**Nora: **I’m just glad we don’t have to interact with the mafia.

**Reese: **Let’s go finish this.

_The students leave with Reese, Nesreen, and Kaeta. You follow after them as Seraphine speaks._

**Seraphine: **I don’t like this at all… In fact, just the idea of doing all this makes me want to scream. Canis is dangerous… That’s all I’ve heard about them, and it’s scary… I guess we won’t know what to do until after we take them on.

_You nod. Soon enough, the party leaves the monastery behind._

_You arrive in Columbus territory in Leicester a few hours later. The buildings are all rundown, nearly falling apart. The streets are crowded and dirty. You cringe at the smell of the filth._

**Seraphine: **It smells rotten… Yuck.

**Kaeta: **I think I’m going to be sick…

**Nesreen: **Good old Columbus… Disgusting as always, I see…

**Nora:** So many people still call this territory their home.

**Illona:** I don’t think it’s actually home for them. It’s just the location of their houses. This could never be home.

**Cassia: **I understand. They don’t thrive here, even if they live here.

**Karim: **The Canis Mafia has destroyed this place.

**Kyle: **Lord Columbus is just exploiting them.

**Aestlyn: **It’s horrible that they’re going through this…

**Magnolia:** I want to topple this group even if I don’t rule this territory.

**Falon:** One day, maybe you will.

**Reese: **Hold on. We have company.

_A man approaches You and the party. His name is Aron._

**Aron: **What are you doing here in Columbus?

**Seraphine: **I remember him! He showed up last month! He was one of the soldiers who ran away!

**Reese: **We’re here only for Malice.

**Nesreen: **Would you be part of the Canis Mafia?

**Kaeta: **We hold no ill will towards you.

**Aron: **Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not.

**Magnolia: **Who were you sent by?

**Aron: **Maybe this will show you.

_Aron holds up his hand, and a tattoo of a wolf can be seen._

**Falon: **The symbol of Canis…

**Nora: **You’re part of the mafia.

**Aron: **And you aren’t supposed to be here.

**Aestlyn: **Lord Columbus sent them after even after reading the message.

**Illona: **If you look closely, there are Malice soldiers around here too.

**Cassia: **That’s not all though. If you look a bit harder, you’ll see Malice and Canis symbols… They’re very closely linked.

**Karim: **Attacking Malice alone isn’t possible since they’re not separate.

**Kyle: **Our hopes of a peaceful resolution are as good as dead.

**Nesreen: **So be it then. If we have to fight our way out of here, we will.

**Kaeta: **I doubt that they’re the most powerful fighters… If you ask me, they probably sent inexperienced people here.

**Magnolia: **These enemies are the weakest of Canis as far as I can tell.

**Falon: **They’re going to learn a lesson about underestimating us!

**Karim: **They deserve to suffer this way.

**Illona: **I hope this doesn’t end badly.

**Aestlyn: **We’re more than prepared for this.

**Nesreen: **I need to gather some information. Cover for me, will you?

**Reese: **Understood.

**Nora: **Be careful.

**Kyle: **It’s time to get into this mess.

**Falon: **Blue Lions, the time is now!

_The battle begins. The Blue Lions fight with a new air of ferocity, and You must admit that You are impressed to see them fighting so intensely. You cannot help but be satisfied with how much they have learned. Nesreen floats around far from the main group, sneaking and opening chests when she can._

_If You initiate combat with Aron, this dialogue plays out._

**Aron: **You seem to be the leader of this motley crew… Well, you made a mistake by bringing them here. I’m going to make sure you know it too!

_If Magnolia initiates combat with Aron, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **This has gone too far.

**Aron: **How noble of you to say.

**Magnolia: **What?

**Aron: **You nobles think you’re so good, always able to thrive so easily… You’re all absolutely pathetic.

**Magnolia: **You’re a criminal regardless of what you think there.

**Aron: **Brat… Let’s finish this.

_If Falon initiates combat with Aron, this dialogue plays out._

**Falon: **Even if I knew this was how today was going to go, I’m still disappointed.

**Aron: **Of course you are… All you higher nobles always are.

**Falon: **You’re a criminal part of the largest organization of crime in the country and continent. You were saying?

**Aron: **And what of it?

**Falon: **Why am I trying to reason with you? You’re clearly not going to listen.

**Aron: **I’m glad you see that. Now, let’s end this mess.

_If Nesreen initiates combat with Aron, this dialogue plays out._

**Nesreen: **You’re a member of the mafia, are you not?

**Aron: **That I am. What about it?

**Nesreen: **What is your plan? Why did you attack us?

**Aron: **I didn’t order any of this. It was all up to the boss.

**Nesreen: **Then why did he do it?

**Aron: **Because you can’t prove anything. He could take care of you nosy kids and say it was such a tragedy that it happened because of Malice.

**Nesreen: **What?

**Aron: **There’s no evidence. He ordered us to do this, but he didn’t leave a scrap behind that would incriminate him. You’re as good as screwed.

**Nesreen: **...I’ll make that decision for myself, thank you very much.

**Aron: **Alright, alright… Let’s do this then.

_If anyone else initiates combat with Aron, this dialogue plays out._

**Aron: **You’re going to pay for interfering with Canis!

_When Aron is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Aron: **You… Little punks… I can’t believe you… Canis will roast your soul in hell…

_After the battle, You stand with the Blue Lions, Reese, Kaeta, and Nesreen._

**Nesreen: **I haven’t found any evidence that Lord Columbus ordered this fight.

**Reese: **He wanted the mafia to fight us.

**Kaeta: **Yeah, but without any evidence, what can we do?

**Magnolia: **I wish we could do more, but we don’t have a choice. If we moved, they would destroy us in battle.

**Nora: **If the church believed what we said, they could lash out. If the church attacked, Canis would retaliate mercilessly.

**Illona: **If the church fought without a reason being announced to the public, they’d get angry.

**Cassia: **That would just make things worse.

**Aestlyn: **I guess all we can do is sit on our hands for now.

**Karim: **They’re too much for us right now.

**Kyle: **I hate how helpless we are.

**Falon: **I’m honestly scared we’ll never get the chance to fight.

**Magnolia: **We might have to wait for the time being, but times will change.

**Kaeta: **What makes you so sure?

**Cassia: **One day, we’ll have the chance to fight back.

**Nora:** Maybe the territory will calm down after that.

**Reese: **Just don’t do anything right now that could be considered stupid.

**Nesreen: **Yeah. We really can’t deal with the stupidity of children now.

**Karim: **I think you’re younger than we are.

**Aestlyn: **We need to get out of here sooner rather than later.

**Kyle:** If we stay here for much longer, we’ll be attacked.

**Illona: **It’s time for us to get back to the monastery…

**Falon: **They could easily get ideas about fighting like Kyle said.

**Magnolia: **We learned one important thing at the very least today, at least if you want my opinion.

**Kaeta: **And what would that be?

**Falon: **You’re talking about Lord Columbus’ involvement with Malice.

**Nora: **If he’s sending troops to Malice, he could be charged as a criminal when the church starts to press for an investigation.

**Cassia: **Nora is right there.

**Karim: **His involvement is bound to be important.

**Illona: **What can we do about it now?

**Nesreen: **Who cares? We’ll take care of it one day.

**Reese: **Right now though, we need to get out of here.

**Aestlyn: **If he’s tied into this mess like Bazler, I’m willing to bet other nobles are involved with this mess.

**Kyle:** If there are more nobles involved, things are only going to get worse.

**Magnolia: **Nobles hold a lot of power, so if they go into a downward spiral, commoners are bound to struggle.

**Nesreen: **Ugh… What are they even good for?

**Cassia: **Good nobles are meant to defend the people.

**Nora: **And yet, bad nobles cause major issues.

**Reese: **Blood justifies horrible people coming to power unchecked.

**Kaeta: **We’re seeing now how that’s bad.

**Illona: **We shouldn’t discuss this now.

**Falon: **Illona is right. If they lash out again, we will suffer due to how weak we are now.

**Aestlyn: **We don’t have the forces to finish things now…

**Kyle: **I hate how true that is.

**Karim: **We should go then.

**Reese:** We found out what we needed to at the very least.

**Falon: **Lord Columbus is protecting Malice troops.

**Cassia: **There are many nobles collaborating toward something bad.

**Illona: **Whatever their plan is, it can’t be good.

**Magnolia: **We’ll need to learn that later.

**Falon: **There are no soldiers near here. We can get away.

**Nesreen: **I sure do hope that’s true.

**Kaeta: **I’m sick of fighting.

**Aestlyn:** I agree.

**Kyle: **Farewell, Columbus territory…

**Karim: **We’ll be back for you.

_The group starts to walk away, and You follow them._

**Seraphine: **I wonder how many other nobles are tied into this… I have to wonder if nobles are really worth it if we keep having issues with them. First Bazler, now this guy… It’s not like the royals of Faerghus and Adrestia are great either. What’s the point of a system that doesn’t work properly?

_You say You do not know._

**Seraphine: **Whatever… Let’s just get back to the monastery. I don’t want to think about this now.

_You travel back to the monastery, and upon arriving You go to see Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **Professor, you’re back… What have you learned?

_You say that You were attacked by soldiers bearing symbols of Malice and Canis._

**Roy: **It’s just as we feared then… The Columbus territory is part of Malice, and the Canis Mafia is being used to fuel it.

**Aisa: **How awful… I cannot say I’m surprised, unfortunately.

**Roy: **If two nobles are tied with Malice, I doubt it’s just them… Two of the three nations have noble with connections to Malice. It wouldn’t surprise me if Faerghus had ties as well.

**Aisa: **We can’t afford to fight back now. The Canis Mafia is dangerous, and if we lash out, they’ll destroy us.

**Roy: **Their secret connections are far too dangerous to dare stand up against right now.

**Aisa: **I agree, as much as I wish we could fight…

**Roy: **We’ll get the chance one day.

**Aisa: **Until then, we need to train the students.

**Roy: **Do you think they’ll have to fight back with us?

**Aisa: **They might… War is coming soon if Malice is not stopped.

**Roy: **We need to take them out soon to prevent that.

**Aisa: **The students may be forced to join us in the battle to end this.

**Roy: **I trust you’ll train them well, Professor.

_You nod._

**Aisa: **We trust in your decisions.

**Roy: **Speaking of, you should likely go back to them.

**Aisa: **Yes. You need to wind down the day with them.

**Roy: **We’ll approach you if you need to talk about anything.

**Aisa: **Have a nice night, Professor.

**Roy: **We’ll be seeing you.

_You nod and walk away from the room to head to the classroom of the Blue Lions as Seraphine speaks._

**Seraphine: **They had better know what they’re doing… Going on a mission but not getting much out of it is getting frustrated. It’s like we have a million paths to go down but haven’t pursued any. It’s getting aggravating… Please end this already.

_You arrive at the classroom, hiding your agreement with Seraphine. Inside, You see the students standing with Reese, Kaeta, and Nesreen._

**Magnolia: **And so the month ends…

**Falon: **We can’t do much now though. We learned more but can’t show such.

**Kaeta: **You mean we can’t act on it yet.

**Nora: **We will at one point for sure.

**Karim: **The people that live there deserve better.

**Cassia: **I feel the same.

**Kyle: **We’ll show them what we’re really made of one day.

**Illona: **They need to fall.

**Nesreen: **And they won’t. But we can’t fight back now.

**Reese: **It’s time for us all to rest for now though.

**Magnolia:** We can train for the next mission soon.

**Nora: **Goodnight, everyone.

**Kyle: **I’ll try to have one…

**Illona: **It’s going to take ages to fall asleep after that…

**Aestlyn: **I think we’ll all struggle there.

**Cassia: **It’ll be all over soon.

**Karim:** I pray you’re right.

**Falon: **Goodnight, guys…

**Reese: **Class is dismissed.

_The students leave the room. Reese and Kaeta leave too. You start to head back to your room, which is when Nesreen appears before You._

**Nesreen: **Professor, I have new orders. I’m going to stay with you from here on out. Lady Aisa told me so, and I’m not going against her wishes. You’re not going to either. I hope that’s okay with you, because you have no options.

_You tell Nesreen You would be happy to have her._

**Nesreen: **Great. I’m going to follow you around regardless of the class you pick at the start of the month. That means I’ll be seeing you soon. Goodnight, Professor.

_You watch as Nesreen walks away, and Seraphine speaks once more._

**Seraphine: **Well, I’m glad to see she’s enthusiastic… She’s right about us getting to sleep. Let’s go rest.

_You nod and head back to your room._

**Seraphine: **I don’t know what to do from here… All we can do is wait. Until the time comes, we need to work as hard as possible. I’m going to be here with you no matter what, even if the world is full of uncertainty around us. Have a nice night.

_You fall asleep quickly. You cannot help but wonder what the future will hold, and You are filled with uncertainty out of nervousness. Seraphine is right in thinking that You will have one another no matter what. You fall asleep soon after, dreaming of the upsetting future and how it could impact You. Even if the rest of the year is a mystery, You know that You will come out of it so long as You have faith in your students, coworkers, and Seraphine. You are not alone, and that isn’t going to change no matter what. You feel your faith in Seraphine surge as You give into slumber… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw heckie yeah chapter seven great
> 
> -Digital


	45. Chapter Seven: Fangs of Corruption I (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You explore the monastery after being given a mission in Columbus territory.

_You wake up on the first day of the Wyvern Moon, seeing Seraphine beside You._

**Seraphine: **Here’s to hoping that we can get into Columbus territory at long last… If you ask me, we’ve been waiting far too long to take care of that man. We found out about him when we first encountered Bazler, which feels like it was ages ago… I guess everything feels like ages when you’ve forgotten more than eighteen years of your life, not that we have a perfectly accurate statement on your age.

_You walk to the room where Aisa and Roy are found, Seraphine following You._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor.

**Roy: **We’re finally ready to send you off to Columbus territory this month. I’m glad to say that we’ve finally been given the chance to take care of him.

**Seraphine: **It’s about time! I’ve been waiting for this… It’s about time that we got the chance to make sure that dastard got what he deserved.

**Aisa: **Since you don’t know much about our land as a whole, perhaps it would be best if we explained the full story behind Columbus territory.

**Roy: **Once, about twenty-five years ago, there was no Columbus territory. It was instead a part of Origo lands, making it part of the ruling power’s territory. There was no Columbus family either.

**Aisa: **The man that now rules over Columbus was born to the Chevalier family, which can be found in Faerghus territory. There were two children in the Chevalier house: Stanton and Cliona. Stanton was known to be cruel despite his kind parents raising him well, and even if he was older, the ruling power was passed to his sister instead of him since his parents thought she would be better at ruling.

**Roy: **Stanton left Chevalier lands out of anger. He took Origo lands by force and changed his name to Wenlock Columbus, becoming the land of the territory. He took once powerful, luscious territory and made it into a horrible place.

**Aisa: **Columbus territory is widely assumed to be the worst place on the continent. Not even Bazler territory can hold a candle to it.

**Seraphine: **You have to be pretty bad if even if a human trafficking ring can’t stand up to you…

**Roy: **Lord Columbus has heavy ties with the Canis Mafia, a group that took power in Leicester around the time that he came to power. It’s implied that Columbus either leads them or is greatly associated with the one who holds the strength in the group.

**Seraphine: **A mafia… Wow. I guess that we will have more to deal with than just Malice after all. I’m not exactly happy about it, but there’s not much we can do about it now.

**Aisa: **Your job this month will be to get into Columbus territory and take out the forces that have been threatening Leicester.

**Roy: **Canis has only survived thus far because nobody believes they can take it out. However, you are not going on a mission to fight Canis. Your job here is to fight Malice.

**Aisa: **If Canis realizes that Malice is what you want, they will leave Malice behind to save their own skins.

**Roy: **That’s how Lord Columbus works… Wenlock Columbus is a cowardly man, you know. I don’t know how else to put it.

**Aisa: **Regardless of how he behaves though, you’ll be tasked with taking him on in the coming month. I trust that you can take care of such, yes?

_You nod in response._

**Aisa: **I knew we could count on you, Professor.

**Roy: **It seems to me like it’s time for you to pick your house for the month, Professor.

_You start to think about what faction You wish to follow, eventually settling on the Black Eagles._

**Aisa: **You wish to go with the Black Eagles this month?

_You nod._

**Roy: **Understood. You should head over to the classroom now then.

**Aisa: **All the students are already aware of what the plan is for the month, though they don’t know who will be going to take care of Malice.

**Roy: **I trust you’ll lead them well as you always do.

**Aisa: **Good luck.

_You leave the room, Seraphine at your side._

**Seraphine: **You know what I’m thinking of all this? I don’t like it one bit. There’s so much at stake here. Even if we aren’t going to be clashing directly with the mafia, I don’t trust them to leave us alone as we target Malice. Canis sounds dangerous… Should we really put the kids in danger this way?

_You tell Seraphine that You won’t let anything happen to any of the students._

**Seraphine: **Yeah… I know. I guess I’m just worried anyways. I can’t really help it. I guess I’m getting attached to the little ones now, just like you are.

_You arrive outside the Black Eagles homeroom and go inside slowly._

**Herwig: **Welcome, Professor.

**Chris: **We’re going to Columbus territory… I knew we would wind up there, but that doesn’t mean I like it…

**Polly: **I’m not a fan of this idea.

**Tuncay: **Have you been there before?

**Polly:** Once… I was only about ten at the time, but I remember it vividly. The place is horrible to be in, and that’s putting it lightly.

**Zelhira: **I don’t understand the church’s logic here.

**Aquillus: **Lady Aisa has to know what she’s doing.

**Hegias: **Yeah… They’ve got to have a plan.

**Callisto:** I wish I could be that confident...The idea makes me feel sick.

**Florence:** Columbus is the worst place to be on the continent… Why are we going there without any knights for reinforcements?

**Herwig: **There’s going to be somebody else joining us during this month, but I don’t know who it is, I’m afraid.

**Callisto: **That’s a blessing, even if it’s a minor one… I’m still pretty nervous though. It’s hard not to be.

**Hegias: **I know I’m nervous thinking about him…

**Tuncay: **I haven’t been to his territory before. What’s it like?

**Aquillus: **Everybody there lives in fear. Speaking out against the mafia is a sentence of death that will be delivered swiftly.

**Florence: **He disgusts me already…

**Zelhira: **I’ve never been, but I do know one thing: don’t ever go if you don’t have to. It’s too dangerous.

**Chris: **I don’t think we’re going to have much of a choice though…

**Hegias: **This is giving me a really bad feeling.

**Polly: **I can’t blame you for that one… It’s terrifying.

**Zelhira: **If the church believes that we can take care of this, we’ll have to trust them.

**Aquillus: **We aren’t dealing with the mafia during this raid anyways. Malice is our target. Canis should leave us alone when they realize that.

**Callisto:** I pray that’s how it goes. I’d rather not be in too much danger if it’s possible to avoid the messiest parts.

**Florence: **Among Canis’ crimes are murder, theft, arson, and trafficking… And that’s just the public knowledge.

**Tuncay: **There’s bound to be more inside of the group too.

**Chris: **We’ll have to get rid of Canis one day, but we can’t do it yet. We don’t have the power to take it on now.

**Herwig: **You can do that as a future leader of the continent. I’m glad you know not to do it now, as you lack the experience and power to try.

**Chris: **I understand… It can wait for now.

**Polly: **We’ll be there when the day to change that comes.

**Florence: **I’m with you too.

**Callisto: **Don’t leave me out of this!

**Hegias:** I’ll join in.

**Tuncay: **I guess we’ve all come to the same conclusion.

**Zelhira: **This Columbus man is so pathetic…

**Aquillus: **You got that right.

**Herwig: **I think that’s all we can talk about now.

**Florence: **If that’s it, I’m going to head out.

**Aquillus: **I’ve got a few things to take care of too.

**Zelhira: **See you later.

**Callisto: **I can’t help but wonder what this month will hold.

**Tuncay: **We won’t know until the time comes.

**Herwig: **We’ve got work to do until then.

**Hegias: **Have a nice day, everyone.

**Polly: **See you guys around.

**Chris:** G-Goodbye, everybody…

_The students leave with Herwig._

**Seraphine: **I have a bad feeling about this… But there’s not much we can do now. Let’s go and look around.

_You nod your agreement and leave the classroom to start exploring the monastery._

_The first people You run into after leaving the classroom are Wolfgang, Raithius, and Novalee, who are all standing together in the Officers Academy courtyard._

**Wolfgang: **I’m sure I’m fine. I’ve told you guys three times already.

**Novalee: **You don’t seem all that fine.

**Raithius: **You know you can trust us, right?

**Wolfgang: **I’m okay. Really. If I wasn’t, I would tell you.

**Novalee: **Why do I somehow doubt that?

**Raithius: **Alright, alright… We’ll leave you alone… For now.

_You leave the Officers Academy courtyard to go to the training hall. Inside, You encounter Callisto and Florence._

**Callisto: **I’ve been putting in as much work as possible to master this dagger move, but I still can’t get it.

**Florence: **Then why don’t you try it on me? With a practice weapon, of course.

**Callisto: **I guess that might work better than a dummy…

**Florence: **Oh, please. Whether it’s made of a sack or not, your target will still be a dummy.

**Callisto: **But still a dummy I really care about.

**Florence: **Aw, you’re too sweet…

_The other people in the training hall are revealed to be Cassia and Miriam when You get closer._

**Cassia: **You’ve mastered flying and fighting at the same time, yes?

**Miriam: **I have… It took a lot of practice, but anything that wants to be good needs refining in some way or another.

**Cassia: **Would you be willing to help me take the reins one day?

**Miriam: **Perhaps… If you show me you’re ready first.

**Cassia: **But of course.

_You leave the training hall and head to the lower floor of dorms. Standing outside of the rooms is Hegias. You approach him and ask how he is feeling._

**Hegias: **Me? Oh, I’m fine… No need to worry about me, Professor. I’m peachy as can be.

**Seraphine: **Nobody uses the word ‘peachy’ anymore, Hegias. If you’re going to lie to us, you might as well try to do it better than that.

**Hegias: **If I need anything, I’ll be sure to tell you though. See you later!

_You walk away, seeing Hegias is not in the mood to talk. Further down in the row of dorms, You encounter Kyle and Nora._

**Kyle: **I’m happy I was able to patch you up after that incident you had in the training hall a few days ago.

**Nora: **Incident? Ha! You mean when you tripped and made my axe bruise my arm on the way down?

**Kyle: **L-Listen, I didn’t mean to--

**Nora: **I’m just messing with you. You know, you could use some lightening up from time to time. I know you flirt with people and take that seriously, but actually relaxing would do you some good.

**Kyle: **You really think so?

**Nora: **I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t.

**Kyle: **Good point… Alright. I’ll try it.

**Nora: **Good boy.

_You enter the greenhouse, where You encounter Nesreen._

**Nesreen: **I’m set to join you on your mission this coming month, Professor… Lady Aisa wants me to gather as much information about the Columbus territory dealings as possible. Me coming along is the best way to learn things like that. I hope that’s alright with you, because I’m coming along either way.

_You tell her that You are happy to have her._

**Nesreen: **I’m glad we agree on that then.

_You leave the greenhouse and go to the fishing hole. You encounter two people standing together, who show themselves to be Derric and Kaeta._

**Derric: **So, how are you doing now that you’re working with the professor?

**Kaeta: **I can already tell that I’m getting better! It’s so much better than just sitting around on my tail all day.

**Derric: **If you’re being allowed out, this bodes well for the rest of us knights. If Lady Aisa is permitting you to fight…

**Kaeta: **...Then maybe the rest of you will follow. I hope so. You deserve that as good fighters.

_You walk away from Derric and Kaeta. Just outside the dining hall, You see Yuliya and Wynne._

**Yuliya: **Gods above, I’m so hungry…

**Wynne: **Then why don’t you go in and get some food?

**Yuliya: **I can’t just do that. Everybody in there would kill me.

**Wynne: **Then why don’t you ask a student for help?

**Yuliya: **I can’t do that either. They could mock me for it.

**Wynne: **You have so little faith in people… You should try to be a bit less grouchy.

**Yuliya: **Excuse me?

**Wynne: **Oh, nothing…

_You enter the dining hall. Inside, You see Aestlyn and Adeline eating together._

**Aestlyn: **I saw you dancing in the cathedral the other day, you know.

**Adeline: **You… You did?

**Aestlyn: **Yeah. If you ever want a partner to perform with, I like to sing. Maybe we could help each other out some.

**Adeline: **You mean it?

**Aestlyn: **Of course!

**Adeline: **Then… Can we go practice soon?

**Aestlyn: **If you want to!

_You leave Adeline and Aestlyn to their conversation, approaching Polly, who is standing alone._

**Polly: **I hope this month isn’t the sign of everything going to hell like the past few months. I’ve had enough of everything going horribly wrong. Can’t we have one good thing happen once in a while?

_You say that you hope for the same._

**Polly: **I hope things change soon for both our sakes…

_You leave the dining hall and head to the marketplace. Once there, You see Adrian shopping._

**Adrian: **Wow… They just got in a new shipment of trinkets, Professor. There’s stuff from Brigid, Albinea, Almyra, Dagda… I might prefer being here at the monastery to hanging out back home, but it doesn’t hurt to have something to remind me of what once was… Or what could be…

_While in the marketplace, You also encounter Zelhira._

**Zelhira: **This is the busiest area of the monastery… It can get a bit overwhelming, I must admit. I’m happy I can get in and out without any issues… I do feel bad for the merchants. I would never be able to survive in this kind of chaos.

_You leave behind the marketplace to go to the entrance hall. Once there, You see Aquillus._

**Aquillus: **With all that’s been happening, I fear the world slipping into war… It’s been ages since our continent was plunged into the fires of battle, the last time being the war between Adrestia, Brigid, and Dagda… I do hope nothing like that repeats itself… If you want to get technical, Albinea and Faerghus are battling right now as well, but it’s not on our soil… I pray the fighting doesn’t come here.

_You also run into Magnolia in the entrance hall._

**Magnolia: **I’ve come so far as a person this school year… It’s so strange to think that it’s almost halfway over already. It’s passed by in the blink of an eye. I just hope that things don’t escalate further than they already have this year. We’re struggling enough as it is.

_The third and final person You find in the entrance hall is Piers._

**Piers: **Lucky Kaeta, getting to go out into the field while the rest of us are stuck here… I don’t understand why Lady Aisa decided to send the youngest among us out to fight. I know she thinks when she makes important choices, but I don’t like this at all.

_You leave the entrance hall to head to the reception hall. Inside, You run into Falon and Illona talking._

**Falon: **You know, Illona, I think we should work on your confidence.

**Illona: **What? Why?

**Falon: **If you’re more confident, maybe you won’t need to lie quite as much.

**Illona: **I don’t lie…

**Falon: **Really? We all know it.

**Illona: **Um… I need to go… Buy a dagger for my five cats back at home. They love… Dull objects. Bye!

**Falon: **That’s just what I’m talking about!

_While in the reception hall, You run into Sofia and Cedric._

**Sofia: **Why are you looking over my shoulder like that?

**Cedric: **I’m not. I just happened to pass by.

**Sofia: **This is a private letter from my mother. Don’t pry.

**Cedric: **I’m not trying to--

**Sofia: **Then quit seeming like you are!

**Cedric: **M-My apologies…

_You leave the reception hall to head to the knights’ hall. Once there, You see Cordelia and Rodain together._

**Cordelia: **Lady Aisa has been preparing us for a potential attack on the monastery.

**Rodain: **Why does she think that is going to happen?

**Cordelia: **I don’t know, but I trust her judgement.

**Rodain: **As much as I hate to say it, she’s probably right…

**Cordelia: **We just need to be ready. Can you do that?

**Rodain: **Of course, Captain Torryn.

**Cordelia: **Glad to hear it.

_You run into Karim in the knights’ hall next._

**Karim: **I came in here hoping a knight would be able to spar with me, but I haven’t run into anybody… I really need to refine my skills, but I can’t without any help.

_You offer to help Karim out when You get the chance._

**Karim: **Thanks, Professor. I really appreciate the offer.

_You go to the stables next. Inside, You see Lev._

**Lev: **Look at you, Travant… All this stress is clearly taking its toll on you… Poor thing. I’m sorry you have to suffer like this… I’ll stay here as long as you need me to…

_Sensing Lev does not wish to be interrupted, You approach the other person in the stables: William._

**William: **I wish we had more luck when it came to finding out information… Instead, we’re being forced into the most dangerous territory of the continent to learn more… Stay safe out there, alright? I don’t want anybody getting hurt.

_You nod before walking away. You head to the cathedral, and once there, You see Tuncay and Chris talking._

**Tuncay: **My folks sent me another message. Apparently, your father is acting up and sending troops to my town to make sure people don’t ‘act out of line’... Pathetic.

**Chris: **I don’t know if he’ll be willing to listen to me, but if I can get the chance to get him off your back, I’ll tell him to leave you and your people alone.

**Tuncay: **It’s like you’re the only noble in Adrestia with any actual common sense! It’s so frustrating!

**Chris: **Well, at least one person in my family needs to not be a piece of garbage.

**Tuncay: **You know, I never would have expected the imperial princess of all people to be so anti-nobility.

**Chris: **If you’d met the nobles of Adrestia, you would be too.

_You go upstairs to the second floor of the monastery. You go to the library, where You see Niko and Jill talking._

**Niko: **I’ve been looking into the Columbus territory’s history to match the theme of this month’s mission, but I’ve come up short each time.

**Jill: **As I suspected… The Canis Mafia covers its tracks too well to track. How aggravating…

**Niko: **But we can keep searching… After I take a nap. I’m absolutely exhausted.

**Jill: **...You’ve been looking for twenty minutes.

**Niko: **Exhausted…

**Jill: **Of course you are.

_After spending time in the library, You move to the cardinals’ room. There, You see Reese and Herwig together._

**Reese: **It’s been ages since I’ve seen the noble life, but I still know all about the Columbus territory scandal.

**Herwig: **Who doesn’t? Columbus is the worst place on the continent. I’ve been separated from my status for quite some time as well, and I still know it fully well.

**Reese: **I don’t understand how people can be that dreadful…

**Herwig: **Well… I guess some people are just like that… Unfortunately.

**Reese: **Yeah… It is unfortunate.

_Finally, You go to Aisa’s room, and You see her standing with Roy._

**Aisa: **Professor, I must wish you good luck for the coming month. A lot is going to be happening soon.

**Roy: **Be sure to watch your back. We can’t have you getting hurt on the way to Columbus territory.

**Aisa: **Stay on your toes… If any month’s mission is going to go wrong, it will be this one.

**Roy: **Make sure you’re prepared before setting out.

_After finishing your conversation with Aisa and Roy, You start back to your room alongside Seraphine._

**Seraphine: **Well, I’m not feeling optimistic about this mission… I guess all we can do for now is rest. Can’t fight back if we’re too exhausted to engage in battle and all that. I know I need some rest… From all the crap that’s happening around us.

_You arrive back at your room._

**Seraphine: **Well… Goodnight, Professor.

_You sleep much earlier than You originally expected to. You don’t realize how tired You are until your face hits the pillow. You have no dreams that night, but You know when You wake up, You will have to face issues of Columbus territory, Malice, and the Canis Mafia… Uncertainty rests in your future, and You are not sure if You are ready to face it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thursday updates are fun since I won't be around to do a Friday update
> 
> -Digital


	46. Chapter Seven: Fangs of Corruption II (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Black Eagles set out to Columbus territory.

_You arrive at the Black Eagles classroom the day of the mission. Herwig and Kaeta are inside with the students and Nesreen._

**Herwig:** It’s time to end this.

**Chris:** I’m glad you’ve joined us, Nesreen.

**Nesreen: **Lady Aisa wants me to learn as much as I can about the Columbus territory and all that it’s involved with.

**Kaeta: **The Canis Mafia is dangerous, and the church needs to know how to approach it.

**Polly:** I appreciate Lady Aisa’s decision for sure.

**Zelhira: **Lord Columbus has gotten away with this for too long.

**Aquillus: **At the very least, we don’t need to confront him directly.

**Callisto: **Canis isn’t our target… Malice is.

**Florence: **Getting into the mafia messiness is asking for a fight.

**Hegias: **They wouldn’t hold back if we went for them.

**Tuncay:** I’m not looking forward to this at all.

**Herwig: **We don’t need to stay for long. As long as we complete the mission, we don’t need to do much.

**Kaeta: **I don’t know what to think about any of this, but I know I have a bad feeling about it.

**Nesreen: **If Lady Aisa wants information, that’s what she’s going to get.

**Chris: **If Columbus and Malice are working together, we’ll just need to find evidence.

**Polly: **We may not have learned much last month, but that streak won’t last.

**Florence: **We’ll finish things this time.

**Zelhira: **You know… If we don’t die on the way.

**Aquillus: **Lady Aisa sent a message ahead of time to the Columbus territory that we are after only Malice.

**Callisto: **Even so, Nesreen is coming to gather more information… We’re hiding our real intentions with that message.

**Tuncay: **It’s time to end things.

**Hegias: **At least we don’t have to do things with the mafia…

**Herwig: **There’s not a moment to lose.

_The students leave with Herwig, Nesreen, and Kaeta. You follow after them as Seraphine speaks._

**Seraphine: **I don’t like this at all… In fact, just the idea of doing all this makes me want to scream. Canis is dangerous… That’s all I’ve heard about them, and it’s scary… I guess we won’t know what to do until after we take them on.

_You nod. Soon enough, the party leaves the monastery behind._

_You arrive in Columbus territory in Leicester a few hours later. The buildings are all rundown, nearly falling apart. The streets are crowded and dirty. You cringe at the smell of the filth._

**Seraphine: **It smells rotten… Yuck.

**Kaeta: **I think I’m going to be sick…

**Nesreen: **Good old Columbus… Disgusting as always, I see…

**Zelhira:** I feel bad for the people that call this place home.

**Hegias:** Somehow, I doubt they think of it as home… It’s more of just where their houses are located.

**Aquillus: **Even if they live here, they aren’t thriving.

**Florence: **Canis drove this place into the ground.

**Tuncay: **It’s exploitation, plain and simple.

**Callisto: **I feel so bad for them…

**Chris:** I might be Adrestian, but I’m still going to ensure this group falls.

**Polly:** I’ll be with you when the day comes to do so.

**Herwig: **Stop. We have a friend here.

_A man approaches You and the party. His name is Aron._

**Aron: **What are you doing here in Columbus?

**Seraphine: **I remember him! He showed up last month! He was one of the soldiers who ran away!

**Herwig: **We’re here from the church to see Malice.

**Nesreen: **Would you be part of the Canis Mafia?

**Kaeta: **We hold no ill will towards you.

**Aron: **Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not.

**Chris: **Who sent you?

**Aron: **Maybe this will show you.

_Aron holds up his hand, and a tattoo of a wolf can be seen._

**Polly: **That’s the mark of Canis.

**Florence: **You’re part of Canis.

**Aron: **And you aren’t supposed to be here.

**Aquillus: **Lord Columbus sent them after us despite knowing we didn’t mean to hurt the mafia.

**Callisto: **Look around. There are Malice soldiers here too.

**Zelhira: **That’s not all. Look closer. Most of them have symbols of both Canis and Malice. Do you know what that means?

**Hegias: **Attacking Malice alone isn’t possible… They’re tied.

**Tuncay: **Peace isn’t an option anymore.

**Nesreen: **So be it then. If we have to fight our way out of here, we will.

**Kaeta: **I doubt that they’re the most powerful fighters… If you ask me, they probably sent inexperienced people here.

**Chris: **They seem to be the weakest of the Canis flunkies.

**Polly: **Guess we’ll just have to teach them a lesson then.

**Florence: **Guess we’ll just have to make them suffer.

**Hegias: **I hope this doesn’t end horribly… I’m worried.

**Aquillus: **We’re ready. Don’t worry.

**Nesreen: **I need to gather some information. Cover for me, will you?

**Herwig: **We will.

**Callisto: **Stay safe.

**Tuncay: **May the battle begin.

**Polly: **Black Eagles! May the fight begin!

_The battle begins. The Black Eagles fight with a new air of ferocity, and You must admit that You are impressed to see them fighting so intensely. You cannot help but be satisfied with how much they have learned. Nesreen floats around far from the main group, sneaking and opening chests when she can._

_If You initiate combat with Aron, this dialogue plays out._

**Aron: **You seem to be the leader of this motley crew… Well, you made a mistake by bringing them here. I’m going to make sure you know it too!

_If Chris initiates combat with Aron, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **Canis has crossed a line. This needs to end.

**Aron: **How noble of you to say.

**Chris: **Huh?

**Aron: **You nobles think you’re so good, always able to thrive so easily… You’re all absolutely pathetic.

**Chris: **And you’re still a criminal.

**Aron: **Brat… Let’s finish this.

_If Polly initiates combat with Aron, this dialogue plays out._

**Polly: **I knew today would go like this, but I’m still disappointed.

**Aron: **Of course you are… All you higher nobles always are.

**Polly: **You’re a criminal from a huge organization of the worst people on the continent. You can’t lecture me.

**Aron: **And what of it?

**Polly: **I don’t know why I’m trying to reason with you… It’s pointless.

**Aron: **I’m glad you see that. Now, let’s end this mess.

_If Nesreen initiates combat with Aron, this dialogue plays out._

**Nesreen: **You’re a member of the mafia, are you not?

**Aron: **That I am. What about it?

**Nesreen: **What is your plan? Why did you attack us?

**Aron: **I didn’t order any of this. It was all up to the boss.

**Nesreen: **Then why did he do it?

**Aron: **Because you can’t prove anything. He could take care of you nosy kids and say it was such a tragedy that it happened because of Malice.

**Nesreen: **What?

**Aron: **There’s no evidence. He ordered us to do this, but he didn’t leave a scrap behind that would incriminate him. You’re as good as screwed.

**Nesreen: **...I’ll make that decision for myself, thank you very much.

**Aron: **Alright, alright… Let’s do this then.

_If anyone else initiates combat with Aron, this dialogue plays out._

**Aron: **You’re going to pay for interfering with Canis!

_When Aron is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Aron: **You… Little punks… I can’t believe you… Canis will roast your soul in hell…

_After the battle, You stand with the students, Herwig, Kaeta, and Nesreen._

**Nesreen: **I haven’t found any evidence that Lord Columbus ordered this fight.

**Herwig: **He wanted us to go up against Canis.

**Kaeta: **Yeah, but without any evidence, what can we do?

**Chris: **I wish we could do more, but… All we can do is retreat. If we strike, they’ll destroy us in the blink of an eye.

**Zelhira: **If the church believed us, they might start a fight. If the church attacked, Canis wouldn’t hesitate to defeat them.

**Hegias: **And if the church didn’t announce why they started to fight, the public would grow upset.

**Callisto: **It would make things get worse quickly.

**Aquillus: **In other words, we have to sit on our hands now.

**Florence: **They’re too much for us to deal with at the moment.

**Tuncay: **I hate that we can’t do anything.

**Polly: **Part of me fears that we’ll never get to fight them.

**Chris: **We might have to wait now, but I’ll be waiting for when that changes.

**Kaeta: **What makes you so sure it will change?

**Callisto: **We’ll be able to fight one day.

**Florence:** We can return the territory to its former glory.

**Herwig: **But we can’t act out now. Don’t be ridiculous.

**Nesreen: **Yeah. We really can’t deal with the stupidity of children now.

**Hegias:** I’m pretty sure you’re younger than us…

**Aquillus: **We need to get away anyways.

**Zelhira:** We’ll be attacked if we remain here.

**Tuncay: **The monastery is waiting for us.

**Polly: **We can’t have them getting ideas about another fight.

**Chris: **If you want my two cents on it, I would say that we learned one important thing while we were here.

**Kaeta: **And what would that be?

**Polly: **I see… Columbus’ involvement with Malice is what you mean.

**Aquillus:** If he sent troops to help Malice, he’ll be charged as a criminal when the church gets a chance to investigate.

**Callisto: **You have a point there.

**Hegias: **His involvement has got to be important to remember.

**Zelhira: **What do we do about it?

**Nesreen: **Who cares? We’ll take care of it one day.

**Herwig: **It’s time for us to leave for now.

**Florence: **If he’s involved like Bazler is, I think there are others tied into this too. I doubt it’s just the two of them.

**Tuncay:** That will only make things worse.

**Chris: **The nobility is powerful… If they crumble, the people under their rule will suffer immensely.

**Nesreen: **Ugh… What are they even good for?

**Aquillus: **Good nobles to defend the common people.

**Tuncay: **But bad nobles cause a lot of harm.

**Herwig: **In this system, bloodline allows horrible people to rise without being checked.

**Kaeta: **We’re seeing now how that’s bad. However, we don’t have time to deliberate over this

**Hegias: **However, we don’t have time to deliberate over this.

**Polly:** If they strike again, we’re going to suffer losses.

**Zelhira: **We don’t have the power to end this fight now.

**Florence: **I hate that you’re right…

**Callisto: **It’s time for us to go.

**Herwig:** At least we found out what we were hoping to.

**Polly: **Lord Columbus has been housing Malice’s fighters.

**Tuncay: **And the nobles are working to something big and bad.

**Hegias: **They’re planning something, and it can’t be good.

**Chris: **We’ll need to learn what specifically at some point soon.

**Polly: **I don’t see any soldiers nearby.

**Nesreen: **I sure do hope that’s true.

**Kaeta: **I’m sick of fighting.

**Aquillus:** It’s time for us to get out.

**Callisto: **Goodbye, Columbus.

**Florence: **We’ll be back one day.

_The group starts to walk away, and You follow them._

**Seraphine: **I wonder how many other nobles are tied into this… I have to wonder if nobles are really worth it if we keep having issues with them. First Bazler, now this guy… It’s not like the royals of Faerghus and Adrestia are great either. What’s the point of a system that doesn’t work properly?

_You say You do not know._

**Seraphine: **Whatever… Let’s just get back to the monastery. I don’t want to think about this now.

_You travel back to the monastery, and upon arriving You go to see Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **Professor, you’re back… What have you learned?

_You say that You were attacked by soldiers bearing symbols of Malice and Canis._

**Roy: **It’s just as we feared then… The Columbus territory is part of Malice, and the Canis Mafia is being used to fuel it.

**Aisa: **How awful… I cannot say I’m surprised, unfortunately.

**Roy: **If two nobles are tied with Malice, I doubt it’s just them… Two of the three nations have noble with connections to Malice. It wouldn’t surprise me if Faerghus had ties as well.

**Aisa: **We can’t afford to fight back now. The Canis Mafia is dangerous, and if we lash out, they’ll destroy us.

**Roy: **Their secret connections are far too dangerous to dare stand up against right now.

**Aisa: **I agree, as much as I wish we could fight…

**Roy: **We’ll get the chance one day.

**Aisa: **Until then, we need to train the students.

**Roy: **Do you think they’ll have to fight back with us?

**Aisa: **They might… War is coming soon if Malice is not stopped.

**Roy: **We need to take them out soon to prevent that.

**Aisa: **The students may be forced to join us in the battle to end this.

**Roy: **I trust you’ll train them well, Professor.

_You nod._

**Aisa: **We trust in your decisions.

**Roy: **Speaking of, you should likely go back to them.

**Aisa: **Yes. You need to wind down the day with them.

**Roy: **We’ll approach you if you need to talk about anything.

**Aisa: **Have a nice night, Professor.

**Roy: **We’ll be seeing you.

_You nod and walk away from the room to head to the classroom of the Blue Lions as Seraphine speaks._

**Seraphine: **They had better know what they’re doing… Going on a mission but not getting much out of it is getting frustrated. It’s like we have a million paths to go down but haven’t pursued any. It’s getting aggravating… Please end this already.

_You arrive at the classroom, hiding your agreement with Seraphine. Inside, You see the students standing with Herwig, Kaeta, and Nesreen._

**Chris: **And with that, our mission is over.

**Polly: **We learned a lot but can’t show what we know.

**Kaeta: **You mean we can’t act on it yet.

**Zelhira: **Hopefully, we’ll be able to show it one day.

**Hegias: **The people in Columbus deserve to be free.

**Callisto: **I agree.

**Aquillus: **One day, we’ll show them what we can do.

**Tuncay: **Those dastards will fall.

**Nesreen: **And they won’t. But we can’t fight back now.

**Herwig: **For now, we need to rest though.

**Chris:** We’ll have to start training soon, but not now.

**Florence: **Goodnight.

**Callisto: **Time to sleep.

**Hegias: **It’s going to take me ages to fall asleep…

**Aquillus: **You won’t be the only one to struggle.

**Hegias: **At least it’ll end soon.

**Tuncay: **I hope so…

**Polly: **See you guys later.

**Herwig: **Class is dismissed.

_The students leave the room. Herwig and Kaeta leave too. You start to head back to your room, which is when Nesreen appears before You._

**Nesreen: **Professor, I have new orders. I’m going to stay with you from here on out. Lady Aisa told me so, and I’m not going against her wishes. You’re not going to either. I hope that’s okay with you, because you have no options.

_You tell Nesreen You would be happy to have her._

**Nesreen: **Great. I’m going to follow you around regardless of the class you pick at the start of the month. That means I’ll be seeing you soon. Goodnight, Professor.

_You watch as Nesreen walks away, and Seraphine speaks once more._

**Seraphine: **Well, I’m glad to see she’s enthusiastic… She’s right about us getting to sleep. Let’s go rest.

_You nod and head back to your room._

**Seraphine: **I don’t know what to do from here… All we can do is wait. Until the time comes, we need to work as hard as possible. I’m going to be here with you no matter what, even if the world is full of uncertainty around us. Have a nice night.

_You fall asleep quickly. You cannot help but wonder what the future will hold, and You are filled with uncertainty out of nervousness. Seraphine is right in thinking that You will have one another no matter what. You fall asleep soon after, dreaming of the upsetting future and how it could impact You. Even if the rest of the year is a mystery, You know that You will come out of it so long as You have faith in your students, coworkers, and Seraphine. You are not alone, and that isn’t going to change no matter what. You feel your faith in Seraphine surge as You give into slumber… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's the end of chapter seven
> 
> I have nine weeks of updates finished as of the time this chapter is going up which is damn ridiculous
> 
> -Digital


	47. Chapter Eight: Echoes of Crescent I (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You plan to defeat roaming Malice fighters.

_You wake up at the start of the Red Wolf Moon and get to your feet. Seraphine manifests at your side as You go towards Aisa’s audience chamber._

**Seraphine: **Here’s to hoping we don’t have to put up with any arrogant nobles or troublesome gang members… We’ve had enough of that. If we see anything like that, I might just have to sink into the ground and never come back out. You’ll have to forgive me if I leave you in such a way.

_You walk into the audience chamber as Seraphine disappears._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor.

**Roy: **We have received new information about a stir in Empire territory.

**Aisa: **At first, we suspected it was Thaddeus Bazler resurfacing again after all this time. He still hasn’t been seen publicly since he was kicked out of his territory.

**Roy: **That was roughly four months ago now. It’s incredible that he managed to evade being seen for all this time.

**Aisa: **I do not want to ask about how he managed to do that…

**Roy: **Regardless, near Bazler’s old estate, many odd groups have been seen coming and going. None of the other nobles of the Empire have moved to stop them.

**Aisa: **They have all been moving swiftly enough to avoid being spotted by most people, but a few informants have sent messages back to the church to say what has happened.

**Roy: **This month, your job is to investigate the disturbances in the area. We don’t want to allow any of these forces to make moves towards the monastery.

**Aisa: **Many of these groups are familiar. One wears the distorted Crest of Seiros, a sign of Malice in the Adrestian Empire. Another’s armor matches the group that assassinated Franz Josefa nearly two decades ago. You saw one group just last month as part of the group that attacked in Columbus territory. Next, there are mages… Mages last seen when Herwig and Florence were taken.

**Roy: **The final group is wholly unfamiliar to us, but they seem to be against the church.

**Aisa: **We cannot say for sure what they have said against the Church of Seiros, but…

**Roy: **It’s something. We would like your help in eliminating this group of Malice forces before things spiral out of control.

**Aisa: **A lot has happened already, and we do not want anything to get worse.

**Roy: **We’ll be sending whichever class you select to teach along with you. That being said, you should make your choice.

**Aisa: **So, Professor… What will it be?

_You ponder your options for a moment before deciding to go with the Golden Deer house._

**Aisa: **The Golden Deer will be your house this month?

_You nod._

**Roy: **In that case, you should get on over there.

_You start to walk towards the door._

**Aisa: **Professor, wait. We forgot to tell you something.

**Roy: **Ah, yes… You will be joined this month by a knight. Her name is Yuliya. She will be with you from here on out.

**Aisa: **We still would like to have a majority of the knights here at the monastery in case something bad happens, but sending a few with you each month surely would not hurt.

**Roy: **We trust you to lead her well with your other students.

**Aisa: **Until we meet again, Professor.

_You leave the room and start heading towards the Golden Deer homeroom. Seraphine appears and walks beside You._

**Seraphine: **Five different groups of Malice… That’s what I’m hearing. They’re all gathering near the old Bazler estate. I can’t help but wonder why they would want to go there. Bazler is gone. We ran him off his land a few months ago.

_You say that You do not understand it either._

**Seraphine: **I’m sure we’ll find out sooner or later, but… It’s still frustrating. We keep going out on missions, but we never seem to find the answers we seek. It’s just out of reach.

_You nod._

**Seraphine: **Regardless, there isn’t much we can do about it at the moment. Let’s go and see the students.

_You enter the Golden Deer classroom as Seraphine disappears. You see the students of the Golden Deer house standing with Jill._

**Jill: **Greetings, Professor. I’m glad to see you.

**Raithius: **Looks like you chose the best house this time around.

**Novalee: **Lord Raithius, is saying such really necessary…?

**Adeline: **I don’t think that’s the point at the moment.

**Sofia: **Don’t we have a mission to prepare for?

**Cedric: **What awaits us, Professor?

_You explain that You will be facing off against many different factions of Malice that have come together to stir up trouble in Empire territory._

**Wolfgang: **Back to the Empire, I see…

**William: **I don’t know what I expected, but… Five of them? That’s crazy.

**Lev: **With that many different groups, they could overwhelm any small noble house at this point…

**Raithius: **Yeah… They have five different parts to their machine, and the parts are far from being small.

**Adeline: **Even going up against one of them alone is daunting.

**Lev: **How are we supposed to put up with all five?

**Sofia: **I don’t think we’ll have to fight a large number of them this time.

**William: **What gives you that idea?

**Novalee: **If there were a lot of them, more people would have seen them… And yet, barely anyone has seen the Malice fighters.

**Cedric: **If they have managed to escape being spotted up to this point, there can’t be too many of them.

**Wolfgang: **Good point. If they’re trying to handle a stealth mission, they couldn’t send a lot of fighters.

**Jill: **I do have to wonder what their plan is though…

**Lev: **Whatever it is, I doubt it’s anything good…

**William: **They must have a reason for going specifically to that territory in the Empire… If they wanted a place to meet, why there?

**Cedric: **The Adrestian Empire as a whole is far from being weak. Some might argue that has the strongest sense of central government out of the three nations.

**Wolfgang: **It isn’t held back by having many people involved like the Alliance is.

**Sofia: **Plus, its emperor is still alive, even if not many people like him. The king of Faerghus died a long time ago, and a replacement is ruling now.

**Adeline: **It would make a lot more sense to gather in a weaker area…

**Raithius: **There must be something in their eyes that makes the Empire worth it.

**Jill: **If they were willing to sneak past so many nobles, that thing has to be huge.

**Novalee: **Perhaps this month’s battle will give us some clues about what that thing could be.

**Lev: **I have to wonder if they’re planning a takeover of the Empire… Why else would they go there?

**Wolfgang: **Would they really want to oppose the rule of Emperor Hendrix?

**William: **He’s far from being a merciful man… If he hears about this, they’ll be decimated.

**Adeline: **I have no idea what their plan is, but I know it can’t be good.

**Cedric: **I want to know how they escaped being caught by any local nobles… Surely someone would have noticed them passing through.

**Sofia: **Maybe people in the Empire are a bit more clueless than we thought.

**Jill: **We learned last month that Lord Columbus is involved with Malice as well. Would it really be so shocking if other Empire nobles are tied into this mess too?

**Novalee: **It wouldn’t be too odd, but… Still, I don’t know what to think.

**Raithius: **We’ll just have to see how it goes when the time comes.

**William: **I’m sure that we’ll need to do a lot of work to defeat them. Seeing so many groups together… It won’t be easy.

**Lev: **I hope we can handle it.

**Wolfgang: **I’m sure we’ll be okay. We’re being led by good teachers.

**Cedric: **I have faith all of us will come out of this alright.

**Jill: **There isn’t much of anything we can do about it now though. We have other business to take care of.

**Sofia: **Have a nice day, everyone.

**Adeline: **I’ll be seeing you around the monastery.

**Novalee: **We can’t rest quite yet… A lot is waiting for us.

**Raithius: **Even so, I’m positive we can handle it.

**Novalee: **I sure hope so…

_The Golden Deer students leave the room. You watch them go before Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **I’m already having a bad feeling about all of this. I know it’s a bit soon to be getting upset, but… I don’t know. I want to hear about how Malice is able to run around the Empire without anyone stopping them. If they really are planning a takeover of the Empire, why aren’t they being more secretive about it? Just because the nobles haven’t pointed it out doesn’t mean it isn’t happening… I don’t get it.

_You say that the answers will come soon enough._

**Seraphine: **I know that’s true, but… Still, it’s overwhelming. I’m sure we can handle it, but it feels as if we’re leaving a thousand avenues open without exploring. Can’t we just get one answer?

_You admit that You feel the same._

**Seraphine: **Nothing we can do about it now though… Let’s just look around the monastery. I don’t want to think about any of this anymore. I’ve had enough of this.

_You nod and start to look around after leaving the classroom. You immediately run into Callisto, Kyle, and Adeline talking in the courtyard._

**Callisto: **The ball is next month… I’m so excited.

**Kyle: **I heard the White Heron Cup is next month as well.

**Adeline: **The White Heron Cup… What is it?

**Callisto: **A dancing competition. The best dancers from each house perform to try and be the top performer.

**Kyle: **The top performer gets certified as a performer in the monastery. Roy leads the competition.

**Adeline: **Wow… One person wins out of all the houses? That’s a lot of pressure…

**Callisto: **Maybe they’ll change it so one person from each house wins instead. I’m not sure.

**Kyle: **I’m not sure about the finer details, but I’m sure we’ll hear soon enough.

**Adeline: **I’ll have to keep that in the back of my mind…

_You approach the training hall after leaving the Officers Academy. Inside, You encounter Magnolia and Cassia, who are talking._

**Magnolia: **Cassia, I have to say that I’m really impressed with you.

**Cassia: **Seriously? You… You’re impressed?

**Magnolia: **Of course. You’re so dedicated when it comes to training. I find it incredible.

**Cassia: **I’m just doing my best…

**Magnolia: **And still so humble… Will you help me learn more about the lance? I think we could teach each other a lot.

**Cassia: **I don’t know what to say… If you wish to learn, who am I to turn you down? You are set to be the queen one day.

**Magnolia: **You don’t need to feel forced.

**Cassia: **No… It’s okay. I’m happy to teach you. Let’s get started.

_You leave the training hall and head to the first floor of dorms. Once there, You see Sofia standing with William._

**Sofia: **You know what I can’t stop thinking about?

**William: **What?

**Sofia: **Back when there was the mission to track the killers of the previous king of Faerghus, a gas adapted from dark magic was used to knock people unconscious.

**William: **That’s true… It hasn’t been seen since, and nobody has been able to figure out how it worked.

**Sofia: **How strange… I wonder if we’ll see it again.

**William: **Given our luck, I would wager that we will…

_You head to the second floor of dorms. You see Aestlyn standing at the far edge of the row of rooms._

**Aestlyn: **It’s so odd to think that the year is over halfway over now… We’ll have our graduation ceremony at the end of March, and after that… We’re all going our separate ways. Who knows if we’ll ever see each other again? Plus, we’ll be leaving the Malice situation unresolved… It doesn’t sit well with me.

_You nod your agreement._

**Aestlyn: **No reason on worrying about it now though… The present is what matters above all else.

_You leave the second floor of dorms to head into the greenhouse. Inside, You see Zelhira standing with Aquillus._

**Zelhira: **Some plants have been known to have magical qualities… I wonder if any of these plants would fit with that.

**Aquillus: **Who can say? I’m not exactly a professional when it comes to plants.

**Zelhira: **Perhaps we could experiment with some and see what results we could find… It could help us in the fight against Malice.

**Aquillus: **I wouldn’t be so sure… But I suppose there’s no harm in hoping.

_You head out to the fishing hole. Standing at the edge of the dock are Florence and Lev._

**Florence: **I can’t help but wonder where our little fishing hole leads. I mean, it seems to go on for ages off into the distance.

**Lev: **You could probably find the answer by using a map…

**Florence: **But that’s no fun! What if we followed the path by flying to see what lies at the end?

**Lev: **You can do that without me then. I’d rather stay here in the monastery where it’s safe.

**Florence: **Don’t kid yourself. You could use a change of scenery.

**Lev: **Of course I could…

_You head up from the fishing hall towards the dining hall. Inside, You see Kaeta, Nesreen, and Yuliya talking._

**Yuliya: **What is it I can look forward to following the professor?

**Kaeta: **Action. Adventure. Battle. You know, the usual.

**Nesreen: **I think you’ll like it… Even if the students can get to be a bit annoying at times.

**Yuliya: **You really aren’t selling it here.

**Kaeta: **It’s a lot of fun! It’s like being a student without actually being a student. The professor is pretty good at coaching people too.

**Nesreen: **Free education is the best type. It’s the lowest price there is.

**Yuliya: **Great… To be treated like a child. My dream come true.

_You see a pair standing in the dining hall, and upon getting closer, You realize it is Hegias and Novalee._

**Novalee: **I’ve heard that you have been making fewer public appearances since finding out about something with the mission to rescue Florence and Professor Wessin.

**Hegias: **I suppose you could say that… I’ve just been growing to enjoy time to myself.

**Novalee: **Either way, the school year is getting closer to ending. Perhaps it would be best if you reached out to others before the chance leaves forever.

**Hegias: **I’ll have to think about it… Last I remember, you aren’t exactly the most social either.

**Novalee: **That… That’s not the point here.

**Hegias: **If you say so…

_You leave the dining hall and head to the marketplace. Once there, You see Tuncay._

**Tuncay: **As much as I like smashing skulls and defeating the forces of evil, I think making weapons is far more enjoyable… I’ve been making weapons for other students in my class, and I want to get those done before the year ends… I’m sure they’ll make for great graduation gifts.

_You say that the others will certainly appreciate them._

**Tuncay: **Thanks, Professor.

_You leave the marketplace and go to the entrance hall. You see Cedric and Wolfgang standing together once there._

**Wolfgang: **It doesn’t seem as if Columbus territory has gotten any better since I left…

**Cedric: **Are you going to be going back there after the year ends?

**Wolfgang: **I think so… My father is waiting for me at home. I don’t want to just leave him. Maybe if I can get him to move…

**Cedric: **Well, just know that you will always have a home in Eir territory. I would be happy to set you up with a place to stay.

**Wolfgang: **Thanks for saying that, Cedric. It really does mean a lot.

**Cedric: **It’s the least I can do for a friend.

_You leave the entrance hall and head to the stables. Inside, You see Nora standing with Karim and Falon._

**Nora: **Horses are incredibly majestic… As are pegasi and wyverns.

**Falon: **As nice as they are, I don’t think I’d ever be able to ride them.

**Karim: **I’m sure it’s not as hard as you’re making it out to be. I find flying on wyverns thrilling.

**Nora: **Thrilling or not, I feel like it would just stress me out.

**Falon: **Who needs an animal companion when I have my trusty axe? I would rather keep them safe by leaving them at home.

**Karim: **Maybe I could teach you guys about it some time. You know, if you would be up for it.

**Nora: **It could be an interesting bonding experience…

**Falon: **I must apologize in advance if this goes horribly.

**Karim: **What have I gotten myself into…?

_You go to the knights’ hall, and inside, You encounter Miriam and Piers._

**Miriam: **It’s odd how quickly time flies… It seems as if the school year started just yesterday.

**Piers: **Even if we stay the same year after year, it’s almost sad to see each class come and go.

**Miriam: **Aw… Is this your way of admitting you have feelings after all?

**Piers: **I’m not going to dignify that question with an answer.

**Miriam: **Understandable… Still, I am worried about all that has happened.

**Piers: **You’re not the only one… It’s unfortunate.

_After finishing the conversation, You approach Wynne and Rodain, who are standing nearby._

**Wynne: **The last faction of Malice the students are going after… What could it mean?

**Rodain: **I don’t know. We’ve had groups that oppose the three countries on this continent. The fourth group is known for experimentation.

**Wynne: **What if the last one doesn’t like the church?

**Rodain: **That is possible… But I hope that’s not the case.

**Wynne: **That would be the big disaster Lady Aisa seems to be prepared for.

**Rodain: **I don’t like that idea… But there’s no way to figure it out now, so we might as well not worry.

**Wynne: **That’s one way of looking at it…

_You head north from the knights’ hall. You see Chris standing on a balcony overlooking a graveyard._

**Chris: **You know… Not many people have come by the graveyard here before. It’s odd to think how many people have died here at the monastery… I feel like that number will only increase if a war breaks out. I pray nothing goes that far… I don’t want to lose anyone else.

_You remark on her use of the word ‘else’._

**Chris: **Ah… My mother passed away when I was young. I never got the chance to get to know her. I don’t want that to happen again… So, I guess I’ll just have to do all I can. Don’t you worry, Professor. I’ll make sure we’re all okay.

_You go to the reception hall, and inside, You see Adrian speaking with Polly._

**Adrian: **So, Polly… What’s your plan for after the school year ends?

**Polly: **I’m not sure yet… Chances are I’ll be heading back to Enbarr, but I somehow feel like Chris isn’t going to want to do that.

**Adrian: **Well, don’t forget that the monastery has a place for you. I’m sure Lady Aisa wouldn’t mind taking you in for a while.

**Polly: **I’ll be sure to keep that in the back of my head. Thanks, Adrian.

**Adrian: **No problem.

_You head north to the cathedral. Inside, You see Illona._

**Illona: **I love listening to the choir practice in here… It’s great to hear so many people singing beautifully… I-I just hope the choir director doesn’t ask me to join in. I can’t do it. Before I know it, I’m fumbling over my words, and if I don’t say that my turtle needs to celebrate its birthday, I say yes… I think I’ll just hide here until after they’re done…

_After speaking to Illona, You approach Niko and Derric, who are standing together._

**Niko: **It seems like I don’t have much time to come down here to pray since I’m so busy managing the library…

**Derric: **I’m happy to pull you away from your work to bring you here. Even so, I feel like the Goddess understands if you can’t always come.

**Niko: **I hope she’s watching us from above… She’s the one who makes sure that I don’t die in my sleep.

**Derric: **Ha! I’d say the Goddess does more than that, but I suppose that’s one way too look at it.

_You go upstairs. You move to the commons room, and there, You see Herwig, Reese, and Jill standing together._

**Herwig: **As Malice forces grow in number, I must admit that I’m worried.

**Reese: **Do you think we’re going to have to go to war?

**Jill: **I don’t know. It’s hard to say at this point. I could see it swinging either way.

**Herwig: **It all depends on what happens over these next few months…

**Reese: **If this conflict doesn’t conclude by the school year’s end, I hope the students next year can take up the mantle.

**Jill: **It’s a frightening time to be in Garreg Mach… But we can’t let that show.

**Herwig: **After all, the students are counting on us to keep things positive.

**Reese: **I’m positively sure I can show them the glory of naps along the way.

**Jill: **How did I know you were going to say that…?

_You head to the library, where You see Raithius and Cordelia talking._

**Raithius: **Captain Torryn, are you going to be going with the professor this month to take out Malice?

**Cordelia: **I’m afraid not. I don’t have the time to do so now. Lady Aisa needs me here at the monastery.

**Raithius: **That’s unfortunate… I’m sure the professor would be happy to work with you again.

**Cordelia: **Maybe one day… For now, I’m sure you kids can handle it. I have faith in you.

**Raithius: **I didn’t expect you to say that, I must admit.

**Cordelia: **Don’t be shocked. I’m not as rough around the edges as I seem.

_After finishing in the library, You move to the audience chamber to see Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **We still are not sure what this last faction could be up to.

**Roy: **Their involvement with Malice shows their intentions loud and clear though.

**Aisa: **It is unfortunate, but we will not know until the end of the month comes.

**Roy: **Be sure to tell us everything you learn, Professor. Don’t hold anything back.

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I am glad you understand.

**Roy: **Until the time comes, good luck.

_You thank them before leaving to head back to your room._

**Seraphine: **I’m so sleepy…

_You arrive at your room and sit on your bed._

**Seraphine: **I wonder if this month will give us more answers than before… I sure do hope so. I’m not sure if I can take much more of this blind wandering. It’s going to frustrate me… Remembering more about the past wouldn’t hurt either.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **Who… Who were we? Why do I appear to you? Why am I so much younger? I don’t understand… But maybe one day, I will. One day, we will… Until then, goodnight.

_Seraphine goes to sleep. You lay down and think about what is to come. The threat of Malice is only continuing to grow, implying that something big is set to happen soon. You are not sure what it could be, but You figure the answer will come soon enough. Until then, You shut your eyes and go to sleep. You do not dream, but the tone of curiosity remains heavy in your heart all night… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally thought I wasn't going to like the way chapter eight turned out but I like the final product a lot because of what happens next chapter oop
> 
> -Digital


	48. Chapter Eight: Echoes of Crescent II (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Golden Deer set out to defeat Malice, but You have another flashback of the past.

_On the last day of the moon, You wake up and rise to your feet. Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **Is it too much to ask for answers? Somehow, I think so, but I guess whatever happens will happen no matter what we want.

_You start to walk to the Golden Deer homeroom._

**Seraphine: **You know what else I would love? Finally remembering what the past was like for us. Why am I so much younger than you? Where in the world did I come from? Who are you really? How are you involved with Evenor Hepius? Why can only you see me? I can’t stop thinking about it.

_You arrive at the classroom, nodding silently. Seraphine disappears. Inside the classroom, You see the students of the Golden Deer house, Jill, Nesreen, Kaeta, and Yuliya._

**Jill: **Greetings, Professor. It’s nice to see you.

**Raithius: **We’re almost ready to set out and take care of business.

**Novalee: **I don’t know how this is going to go, but I pray it works out in our favor.

**Adeline: **I believe in us.

**Lev: **I’m a bit less sure… Not because I don’t have faith, but…

**Sofia: **You just think the enemy will be tough.

**Cedric: **And that’s understandable. However, we can’t lose our confidence too soon.

**Wolfgang: **If anybody can handle this, it’s us.

**William: **I think we should pause in our talking for the time being.

**Nesreen: **We have someone to introduce now.

**Kaeta: **Yuliya, say hello.

**Yuliya: **Hey, I guess.

**Jill: **Our mission is to defeat the many fighters of Malice that have gathered in Empire territory.

**Raithius: **I’ll be making sure they don’t get away with it.

**Novalee: **I hope everyone is prepared.

**Sofia: **Of course we are. Let’s go take care of business.

**William: **The sooner we finish that up, the sooner we can learn why.

**Cedric: **That’s what I would like to know as well.

**Wolfgang: **They must have a motive… But what could it be?

**Adeline: **If all goes well, we’ll find out sooner rather than later.

**Kaeta: **I know I want to hear about it. I’m sick of not having any answers.

**Nesreen: **Lady Aisa will want to hear about this.

**Yuliya: **Of course…

**Jill: **Come on, everyone. Grab the last of your supplies.

**Novalee: **We have quite a ways to go.

**Sofia: **In other words, tell your adrenaline to pipe down for a little while.

**Cedric: **A noble heart is never dulled.

**Yuliya: **Goddess, save my soul…

**Adeline: **Off we go then.

**Wolfgang: **We’re going to find answers today. I’m sure of it.

**William: **I’ll trust you on that then.

**Kaeta: **Optimism, everyone! Don’t let your spirits down.

**Lev: **If you insist…

**Nesreen: **Come on. Let’s just get to it.

**Raithius: **Farewell, homeroom. We’ll return soon.

_The students follow Jill out of the room with Nesreen, Kaeta, and Yuliya taking up the rear. You follow them out as Seraphine appears again._

**Seraphine: **At least we don’t have to put up with the emperor this time… That’s a low bar to set, but it’s all I’ve really got at this point.

_You nod your agreement and start the journey toward Empire territory._

_When You arrive at your destination, You stand with the rest of your party._

**Jill: **Alright… Here we are.

**Raithius: **I don’t see anyone around here…

**Wolfgang: **Be quiet for a moment…

**Yuliya: **I can hear them.

**William: **There… Off to the east.

**Sofia: **Weapons ready, everyone…

**Novalee: **Wait a moment. I want to see if they’ll show themselves first.

**Adeline: **It could be an ambush.

**Nesreen: **But we need to gather information. Hold.

**Kaeta: **There’s the commander…

**Lev: **What is that armor…?

**Cedric: **The distorted emblem is green…

_A man appears from the shadows. His name is Zane._

**Zane: **It seems the Church of Seiros noticed after all.

**Raithius: **Who are you? What are you doing here?

**Novalee: **Let me guess… You don’t like the church.

**Zane: **Looks like some of you have brains after all.

**Cedric: **He sounded like he was spitting out the church’s name…

**Sofia: **I’m willing to bet this is the final faction of Malice.

**Jill: **What are you doing here?

**Zane: **It’s none of your business. You could have stayed safe if you hadn’t intruded.

**Adeline: **That wasn’t an option.

**Zane: **If you insist that’s the case, I suppose I’ll just have to end this here and now.

**William: **His intentions are loud and clear…

**Lev: **I expected nothing less…

**Wolfgang: **What do you want from us?

**Zane: **You? Nothing. There are others that I value highly.

**Nesreen: **Such as?

**Zane: **It’s rather simple… But I’ll let you figure it out on your own.

**Kaeta: **Coward!

**Zane: **I’ve had enough of this chatter. Let’s get this over with.

**Yuliya: **It’s time to fight.

**Raithius: **Alright, everybody! Get ready! The time has come!

_The battle begins. The battlefield is a somewhat open field with a few trees dotting the area. There are five small groups of enemy units moving closer with each passing turn. Reinforcements come in every once in a while, putting You on the defensive. Even if your party does not have the freedom of lashing out as aggressors, the Golden Deer hold their own. You muse on their growth throughout the year but say nothing of it out loud._

_If You initiate combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Zane: **I’ve heard quite a bit about you from the commanders… One of them knows you all too well. I wouldn’t be surprised if we fought on the same side one day, but until then, we are enemies, and I will have to try to kill you. Farewell!

_If Raithius initiates combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **What are you doing here?

**Zane: **It should be clear… Big changes are coming not only to Adrestia, but to the whole continent.

**Raithius: **It sounds as if you’re planning a rebellion.

**Zane: **Perhaps…

**Raithius: **Bold of you to do when a member of the royal family is easy to contact.

**Zane: **That pathetic windbag doesn’t have a chance of finding us. He’s too much of a fool to see us.

**Raithius: **I wouldn’t be so confident.

**Zane: **I could say the same to you. Now, let’s end this once and for all!

_If Novalee initiates combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Novalee: **You have quite the courage, storming into Empire territory directly.

**Zane: **Perhaps… You have quite the courage, coming to confront me directly.

**Novalee: **I’m here to stop you. It’s the only option.

**Zane: **Obligation… Is that why you’re fighting? Pathetic.

**Novalee: **My motivation is of no import to you.

**Zane: **Keep telling yourself that… Let’s just end this.

**Novalee: **It would be my pleasure.

_If Wolfgang initiates combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Zane: **You must be the kid with the Crest of Chevalier… We’ve talked about you before.

**Wolfgang: **Wait… What?

**Zane: **A girl with long blonde hair and a Crest she shouldn’t possess… It’s all quite interesting.

**Wolfgang: **I don’t understand.

**Zane: **I’m sure you will. The world has a way of teaching important lessons like that.

**Wolfgang: **Shut it… I’m going to end this here and now.

**Zane: **If you insist…

_If Nesreen initiates combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Nesreen: **You came to the Empire because you wanted something. You still want something.

**Zane: **And?

**Nesreen: **You want to start a rebellion. You’re working with Bazler. He wanted civil war, and so do you.

**Zane: **Civil war? That isn’t my aim… Mine is far greater… And it starts with ripping the Crest of Seiros from this damned country.

**Nesreen: **You don’t like the church then… The connection of the Faixnoye family to the church brings you here.

**Zane: **So, you aren’t as dumb as I thought… Impressive. Too bad you won’t be able to tell a soul.

_If Yuliya initiates combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Zane: **Albinean… How intriguing.

**Yuliya: **What of it?

**Zane: **Why are you fighting with the same people who destroyed your home?

**Yuliya: **…

**Zane: **There are others out there… Others who would be ashamed of you.

**Yuliya: **That’s none of your business…

**Zane: **If you need somewhere to stay… Know that Malice is ready to accept you.

**Yuliya: **...I think not. Goodbye.

_If anyone else initiates combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Zane: **It’s time that we rid this world of the dreaded Crest of Seiros… And let the church fall with it!

_When Zane is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Zane: **I am… But a piece of Malice… You can remove me… But the rest continues to pursue destruction… You have won… Nothing…

_After the battle, You stand at the center of the field with your students. You look at Zane’s body. Something appears to be sticking out of his jacket. Seraphine appears next to you._

**Seraphine: **Is that… A piece of paper?

_You grab the page and start to look at it. The surface is grimy and slick. You hold it up near your face to read it. Raithius looks over your shoulder. The other students gather around You, but they are far from being close to the page._

**Raithius: **He… He wanted to defeat the church.

**Novalee: **The plan was to do so by going through the Empire, I suppose… How odd.

**Adeline: **What else does it say?

**Sofia: **There are plans to strike somewhere else in a month…

**Cedric: **It looks like a church in Faerghus.

**Lev: **Why would they go after a small church like that?

**Nesreen: **It would send a message to the larger church.

**Yuliya: **It’s a threat.

**Kaeta: **What are they thinking by pulling something like this?

**Jill: **They think it’s in their best interests clearly.

**William: **I couldn’t even begin to comprehend why.

**Wolfgang: **Somehow, I don’t know if we’re meant to.

**Raithius: **We need to take this back to Lady Aisa and everyone else at the church immediately.

**Adeline: **Um… Professor? Are you alright?

**William: **You look sick…

**Nesreen: **Do you need to lay down?

**Kaeta: **Wait… The paper is covered with something…

**Sofia: **It smells rotten…

**Jill: **Wait… That might be a type of poison… Drop the paper.

_You drop the page but start to cough soon after._

**Wolfgang: **Professor, what’s going on?

**Yuliya: **My guess is that it’s something that grows vicious when inhaled.

**Lev: **And the professor was so close to it…

**Cedric: **Take deep breaths… It’s going to be fine…

**Novalee: **Professor? ...Ack-!

_Your legs give out from beneath You, and You are unconscious before your face even hits the ground._

_While You are asleep, You see the open field You had just fought the battle in. You are much younger now as well, having shrunk significantly. You see Evenor standing before You. Seraphine is nowhere to be seen._

**Evenor: **Here we are…

_You ask Evenor if You are ever to return to Enbarr, the capital of Adrestia._

**Evenor: **Enbarr? Never. We aren’t going to be returning there ever again. We’re moving around from here on out.

_You question as to if You will ever see your mother again._

**Evenor: **I… I am afraid she can no longer care for you. I will be the one looking after you from here on out. Your name will need to change as well. We don’t want anyone to come looking for you.

_You nod slowly._

**Evenor: **Hmph… The damn child who ruined our lives is called Rhian. She’s dead to the public while you are appearing for the first time… If she took your name, we’ll just have to steal hers, or at least one like hers… From this day forth, you are Rion.

_You nod again._

**Evenor: **If anyone ever calls to you using your birth name, ignore them. That version of you is dead. Rion is rising. Do you understand?

_You say yes._

**Evenor: **I am glad to hear it… I’m going to buy us a room in the nearby inn. After that, we move towards Leicester. We cannot stay in one place for too long. Come.

_You follow Evenor as she walks toward the nearby town. You stop upon hearing a baby crying. You glance around, not sure of where the sound is coming from. You see a small child manifest seemingly from nowhere nearby. It appears to be a baby who is no more than a few days old. Her hair can barely be seen, but it is tinted with green. The child is wrapped in a white blanket. An unknown voice speaks to You as You attempt to pick her up, though You find that she cannot be touched._

**???: **How strange… A secondary version of me, but not one to be expected… I shall call you… Seraphine. Yes. Seraphine. Watch her well, Crescent.

_The vision fades away as the baby Seraphine disappears enough nothingness. You see blackness all around You, unsure of if You are alive or dead…_

_The vision ends when You open your eyes._

_  
_**Raithius: **Professor? Are you okay?

**Sofia: **Gods above, you had us worried.

**William: **What happened?

**Jill: **There are some types of poison that can impact people when it is inhaled. My guess is that the professor got a bit too close to it and breathed in too much.

**Nesreen: **Even in death, he still insisted on messing with us.

**Kaeta: **What a little punk…

**Novalee: **Even if we have to be careful about inhaling it, we should be able to copy the message over onto another page to give to Lady Aisa.

**Adeline: **Lucky for you, I happened to bring some parchment with us.

**Lev: **What would we do without you?

**Cedric: **Be careful not to breathe in too much of it.

**Yuliya: **Always trying to hold us back, it seems…

**Wolfgang: **Professor, do you think you can stand?

_You rise to your feet. After stumbling briefly, You steady._

**Raithius: **I’m glad to see you’re alright…

**Novalee: **We shouldn’t stick around here any longer than we have to.

**Lev: **We should take the professor back to rest…

**Sofia: **We don’t want anything else bad to happen.

**Cedric: **We have accomplished our mission. No reason to remain.

**Adeline: **I’ve finished copying the note over.

**Nesreen: **I’ll be sure to deliver it to Lady Aisa when we return.

**Kaeta: **Is everyone ready?

**Yuliya: **Let’s get out of here… I’m sick of this place.

**Wolfgang: **Be careful, Professor.

**William: **Try not to push yourself too hard.

**Jill: **If you need anything, just say so.

_You nod and start to follow the others in your party. Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **That was another memory… You seemed so young. You were about as tall as I am. I was a baby… Who was that voice? Why did it call you Crescent?

_You suggest that perhaps that was the birth name Evenor told You not to speak of._

**Seraphine: **It’s finally a clue to figure out who we are! Crescent… A person who went missing when you were about my size. I would say that was about ten years ago. I like that we finally have something to use in finding the truth.

_You ask if she thinks You should bring this up to anyone._

**Seraphine: **I… I don’t know yet. Keep it secret for the time being. If we think it would be best to tell others about, we can do that later. For now, I would rather be safe than sorry.

_You nod._

**Seraphine: **I’m so happy we have something else… I don’t know exactly what it all meant, but it’s still a start, and that’s what I care about.

_You nod once again as Seraphine disappears. You cannot stop repeating the memory in the back of your mind over and over, but You still do not know what it could all mean. A million questions are stirring beneath the surface, but You do not know how to word any of them, so they are all left unspoken._

_When You arrive back at the monastery, You head to the audience chamber to see Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor. I take it your mission was a success.

**Roy: **I can tell you have something else to tell us though. What’s on your mind?

_You say that a letter was found on the commander’s body talking about an attack on a minor Faerghus church that is to take place in the next month._

**Roy: **I see…

**Aisa: **I do not know which church in particular they could be discussing, but I will find out.

**Roy: **We won’t let them get away with this. They have done enough harm as it is.

**Aisa: **What about the forces you had to fight? Was there anything odd about them?

_You explain that the fifth faction of Malice has a grudge against the church._

**Aisa: **I feared that would be the case.

**Roy: **I wonder why they would hate the church…

**Aisa: **The attack on a smaller church seems to be sending a message to us though.

**Roy: **It’s as if they mean that we’re next…

**Aisa: **Do you have the paper with this message on it, Professor?

_You explain that Nesreen is planning to bring it by later on._

**Roy: **I’m glad to hear it. The more evidence we have to go off, the better.

**Aisa: **You look exhausted, Professor… Are you alright?

_You nod, not wanting to explain your memory._

**Roy: **If you insist… Try not to push yourself too hard.

**Aisa: **Yes. Please, return to your room and get some rest.

**Roy: **We’ll send for you if we need you again.

**Aisa: **Feel free to ask for help. We are happy to support you.

**Roy: **I feel the same as Lady Aisa. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance.

**Aisa: **Until we meet again… Have a nice evening.

**Roy: **Goodnight, Professor.

_You nod to them both and leave the audience chamber. Seraphine appears next to You._

**Seraphine: **I never thought I would say that I’m happy to have passed out, and yet, here we are… We can’t go to our room just yet though. We have to go and see the kids one more time. After that, we’re free to start theorizing about what all that meant.

_You yawn._

**Seraphine: **Well… That can wait until after you’ve slept for a while. I guess that letter took more out of you than we thought… I feel like bouncing off the walls, but I’m not exactly physical, so I suppose it makes sense we would be impacted differently.

_You start to head towards the classroom._

**Seraphine: **Let’s try and take care of this quickly, okay?

_You nod as You push the door to the Golden Deer homeroom open. Seraphine vanishes once again._

**Jill: **There’s the end of the month.

**Nesreen: **Even if we didn’t expand much upon what we knew, we learned two important things.

**Yuliya: **First, the fifth group of Malice is out to destroy the Church of Seiros.

**Kaeta: **Second, their next target is a minor church in Faerghus.

**Sofia: **At least they told us what we’ll be doing now.

**William: **It seems fishy to me… It’s like they wanted us to find it.

**Adeline: **If it was intentionally planted, then they’re probably expecting us to walk into the trap.

**Lev: **From there, they can ambush us…

**Cedric: **But if we’re ready for that, we can prevent it.

**Wolfgang: **Caution is our friend from here on out.

**Novalee: **Everyone, stay safe. Even if we don’t see danger before that mission, I want to ensure we’re all alive.

**Raithius: **What Nova said. Please stay out of trouble. All of you.

**Jill: **If you get yourselves killed, I’ll do you all in myself.

**Adeline: **That sounds violent…

**Nesreen: **Let’s wrap this up quickly. I need to deliver the letter to Lady Aisa.

**Kaeta: **What do you think she’ll do about it?

**Yuliya: **Send us to fight them off, obviously.

**Cedric: **What else can she do?

**Sofia: **We’ll just have to make sure it doesn’t end horribly and violently.

**Lev: **Goddess, save our souls…

**Wolfgang: **We’ll be fine. I’m sure of it.

**William: **I’ll trust you on that.

**Raithius: **Until then, we should get some rest.

**Novalee: **It’s important to be prepared for big battles like this.

**Jill: **With that said, go on and sleep. It’s been a long day.

**Raithius: **Training will be starting up again soon.

**Adeline: **Alright… Goodnight, everyone.

**Nesreen: **Don’t die.

**Kaeta: **It’s time to start getting ready to beat them up.

**Yuliya: **You are way too excited about this.

**Sofia: **Does anyone need to be walked back to their room? I’m happy to help.

**Cedric: **We could talk about--

**Sofia: **Not you.

**Wolfgang: **I’m off to bed. Night.

**Lev: **Be careful, everyone.

**William: **Until next time.

**Novalee: **Farewell, Professor. Feel better soon.

_The students all leave the classroom. You start to walk to your room as Seraphine manifests._

**Seraphine: **Next month… Next month, we’re going to find out more about Malice. I’m sure of it. When we aren’t on the battlefield, we’re going to find out more about you… Crescent… What an odd name.

_You nod as You sit on your bed._

**Seraphine: **I have a million questions, but… I’m at least glad we have a lead. Crescent… We don’t even have surname, but funny enough, I don’t mind. For now, this is enough… But I can tell you’re exhausted. I won’t keep you awake with my endless prattling. Have a nice rest, Professor… Crescent…

_You lay down and fall asleep quickly. In the night, the same dream of your newly recovered memory loops over and over. You learn nothing from the repeated cycles, but You find yourself more determined than ever to figure out the truth. Seraphine’s enthusiasm has proven itself to be fiercely contagious. However, answers still lie out of reach, meaning You will have to work if You wish to find out who You are and who You were. The name Crescent rings endlessly in your head, and You wish You could find the one who named You as such in the first place… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The memory sequence is why I love this chapter so much god I've been waiting to post this for so long
> 
> -Digital


	49. Chapter Eight: Echoes of Crescent I (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You plan to defeat roaming Malice fighters.

_You wake up at the start of the Red Wolf Moon and get to your feet. Seraphine manifests at your side as You go towards Aisa’s audience chamber._

**Seraphine: **Here’s to hoping we don’t have to put up with any arrogant nobles or troublesome gang members… We’ve had enough of that. If we see anything like that, I might just have to sink into the ground and never come back out. You’ll have to forgive me if I leave you in such a way.

_You walk into the audience chamber as Seraphine disappears._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor.

**Roy: **We have received new information about a stir in Empire territory.

**Aisa: **At first, we suspected it was Thaddeus Bazler resurfacing again after all this time. He still hasn’t been seen publicly since he was kicked out of his territory.

**Roy: **That was roughly four months ago now. It’s incredible that he managed to evade being seen for all this time.

**Aisa: **I do not want to ask about how he managed to do that…

**Roy: **Regardless, near Bazler’s old estate, many odd groups have been seen coming and going. None of the other nobles of the Empire have moved to stop them.

**Aisa: **They have all been moving swiftly enough to avoid being spotted by most people, but a few informants have sent messages back to the church to say what has happened.

**Roy: **This month, your job is to investigate the disturbances in the area. We don’t want to allow any of these forces to make moves towards the monastery.

**Aisa: **Many of these groups are familiar. One wears the distorted Crest of Seiros, a sign of Malice in the Adrestian Empire. Another’s armor matches the group that assassinated Franz Josefa nearly two decades ago. You saw one group just last month as part of the group that attacked in Columbus territory. Next, there are mages… Mages last seen when Herwig and Florence were taken.

**Roy: **The final group is wholly unfamiliar to us, but they seem to be against the church.

**Aisa: **We cannot say for sure what they have said against the Church of Seiros, but…

**Roy: **It’s something. We would like your help in eliminating this group of Malice forces before things spiral out of control.

**Aisa: **A lot has happened already, and we do not want anything to get worse.

**Roy: **We’ll be sending whichever class you select to teach along with you. That being said, you should make your choice.

**Aisa: **So, Professor… What will it be?

_You ponder your options for a moment before deciding to go with the Black Eagles house._

**Aisa: **The Black Eagles will be your house this month?

_You nod._

**Roy: **In that case, you should get on over there.

_You start to walk towards the door._

**Aisa: **Professor, wait. We forgot to tell you something.

**Roy: **Ah, yes… You will be joined this month by a knight. Her name is Yuliya. She will be with you from here on out.

**Aisa: **We still would like to have a majority of the knights here at the monastery in case something bad happens, but sending a few with you each month surely would not hurt.

**Roy: **We trust you to lead her well with your other students.

**Aisa: **Until we meet again, Professor.

_You leave the room and start heading towards the Black Eagles homeroom. Seraphine appears and walks beside You._

**Seraphine: **Five different groups of Malice… That’s what I’m hearing. They’re all gathering near the old Bazler estate. I can’t help but wonder why they would want to go there. Bazler is gone. We ran him off his land a few months ago.

_You say that You do not understand it either._

**Seraphine: **I’m sure we’ll find out sooner or later, but… It’s still frustrating. We keep going out on missions, but we never seem to find the answers we seek. It’s just out of reach.

_You nod._

**Seraphine: **Regardless, there isn’t much we can do about it at the moment. Let’s go and see the students.

_You enter the Black Eagles classroom as Seraphine disappears. You see the students of the Black Eagles house standing with Herwig._

**Herwig: **It’s good to see you, Professor.

**Chris: **Um… It’s nice to see you again, Professor.

**Polly: **Well, I suppose we shouldn’t mince words.

**Zelhira: **There’s no point in holding this off.

**Aquillus: **We do have a lot of preparing to take care of.

**Florence: **So, Professor, what’s coming for us this month?

_You explain that You will be facing off against many different factions of Malice that have come together to stir up trouble in Empire territory._

**Tuncay:** We’re going back to the Empire?

**Hegias: **Five different groups… That’s more than I anticipated.

**Callisto: **Those forces could overwhelm a small noble house. I wonder if that’s what the’re planning to do with this power.

**Chris: **I don’t think these parts are small either. We can fight one of these factions and still struggle to find victory.

**Zelhira: **It’s daunting to deal with one, much less five.

**Hegias: **I wonder how we’ll handle so much more…

**Aquillus: **I doubt we’ll need to deal with too many from each group.

**Florence: **What makes you say that?

**Polly: **If there were too many, they would have been spotted, but not many people have noticed them up to this point.

**Callisto: **That’s true. If they’ve been this stealthy up to this point, their numbers have to be relatively limited.

**Tuncay: **I suppose this bodes well for us then. I’m glad the church isn’t sending us off to die this month.

**Herwig: **I can’t help but wonder what Malice is plotting.

**Hegias: **It can’t be good though.

**Aquillus: **What I want to know is why they targeted that specific part of the Empire. That’s a risky place to meet.

**Zelhira: **The Empire is not a weak nation. Some would say that it’s the strongest of the primary nations right now.

**Tuncay: **It doesn’t have to deal with noble arguments like Leicester.

**Polly: **On top of that, the emperor is still breathing. Faerghus doesn’t have such blessings since a replacement is on the throne after the king’s assassination.

**Callisto: **The other countries would have been a better idea for a place to stay.

**Chris: **There has to be a reason they chose to target Adrestia.

**Herwig: **If they took such a large risk, the reason must be important to them.

**Florence: **Perhaps this month will give us an idea about why they chose this area.

**Hegias: **Perhaps they’re plotting to take over the Empire. We do know that they might be hungry for power.

**Zelhira:** Would they dare to oppose the emperor?

**Aquillus:** He’s not fond of mercy. He would kill them immediately once he heard.

**Florence:** I highly doubt their plan is anything good.

**Callisto: **How did they escape the nobles? You would expect somebody to notice them, but they still got away with it.

**Tuncay: **Damn nobles must be clueless.

**Herwig: **We heard that Lord Columbus was dragged into Malice. Others must be involved. Perhaps others in the Empire were pulled into it as well.

**Polly: **I’m not sure what to assume at this point.

**Chris:** We won’t be able to see until the mission begins…

**Aquillus: **If there are five groups together, it’ll take quite a bit of work to find victory. We can’t rest quite yet.

**Hegias: **I hope things go in our favor…

**Callisto: **We have good teachers. We’ll survive.

**Zelhira: **I hope you’re right.

**Herwig: **For now, we shouldn’t distract ourselves too much with it. The time will come soon enough, but not yet.

**Florence: **It’s time to split up, I suppose.

**Tuncay: **Until next time.

**Polly: **A lot awaits us.

**Chris: **We… We totally have this under control! ...I hope…

**Polly: **I pray that’s true…

_The Black Eagles students leave the room. You watch them go before Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **I’m already having a bad feeling about all of this. I know it’s a bit soon to be getting upset, but… I don’t know. I want to hear about how Malice is able to run around the Empire without anyone stopping them. If they really are planning a takeover of the Empire, why aren’t they being more secretive about it? Just because the nobles haven’t pointed it out doesn’t mean it isn’t happening… I don’t get it.

_You say that the answers will come soon enough._

**Seraphine: **I know that’s true, but… Still, it’s overwhelming. I’m sure we can handle it, but it feels as if we’re leaving a thousand avenues open without exploring. Can’t we just get one answer?

_You admit that You feel the same._

**Seraphine: **Nothing we can do about it now though… Let’s just look around the monastery. I don’t want to think about any of this anymore. I’ve had enough of this.

_You nod and start to look around after leaving the classroom. You immediately run into Callisto, Kyle, and Adeline talking in the courtyard._

**Callisto: **The ball is next month… I’m so excited.

**Kyle: **I heard the White Heron Cup is next month as well.

**Adeline: **The White Heron Cup… What is it?

**Callisto: **A dancing competition. The best dancers from each house perform to try and be the top performer.

**Kyle: **The top performer gets certified as a performer in the monastery. Roy leads the competition.

**Adeline: **Wow… One person wins out of all the houses? That’s a lot of pressure…

**Callisto: **Maybe they’ll change it so one person from each house wins instead. I’m not sure.

**Kyle: **I’m not sure about the finer details, but I’m sure we’ll hear soon enough.

**Adeline: **I’ll have to keep that in the back of my mind…

_You approach the training hall after leaving the Officers Academy. Inside, You encounter Magnolia and Cassia, who are talking._

**Magnolia: **Cassia, I have to say that I’m really impressed with you.

**Cassia: **Seriously? You… You’re impressed?

**Magnolia: **Of course. You’re so dedicated when it comes to training. I find it incredible.

**Cassia: **I’m just doing my best…

**Magnolia: **And still so humble… Will you help me learn more about the lance? I think we could teach each other a lot.

**Cassia: **I don’t know what to say… If you wish to learn, who am I to turn you down? You are set to be the queen one day.

**Magnolia: **You don’t need to feel forced.

**Cassia: **No… It’s okay. I’m happy to teach you. Let’s get started.

_You leave the training hall and head to the first floor of dorms. Once there, You see Sofia standing with William._

**Sofia: **You know what I can’t stop thinking about?

**William: **What?

**Sofia: **Back when there was the mission to track the killers of the previous king of Faerghus, a gas adapted from dark magic was used to knock people unconscious.

**William: **That’s true… It hasn’t been seen since, and nobody has been able to figure out how it worked.

**Sofia: **How strange… I wonder if we’ll see it again.

**William: **Given our luck, I would wager that we will…

_You head to the second floor of dorms. You see Aestlyn standing at the far edge of the row of rooms._

**Aestlyn: **It’s so odd to think that the year is over halfway over now… We’ll have our graduation ceremony at the end of March, and after that… We’re all going our separate ways. Who knows if we’ll ever see each other again? Plus, we’ll be leaving the Malice situation unresolved… It doesn’t sit well with me.

_You nod your agreement._

**Aestlyn: **No reason on worrying about it now though… The present is what matters above all else.

_You leave the second floor of dorms to head into the greenhouse. Inside, You see Zelhira standing with Aquillus._

**Zelhira: **Some plants have been known to have magical qualities… I wonder if any of these plants would fit with that.

**Aquillus: **Who can say? I’m not exactly a professional when it comes to plants.

**Zelhira: **Perhaps we could experiment with some and see what results we could find… It could help us in the fight against Malice.

**Aquillus: **I wouldn’t be so sure… But I suppose there’s no harm in hoping.

_You head out to the fishing hole. Standing at the edge of the dock are Florence and Lev._

**Florence: **I can’t help but wonder where our little fishing hole leads. I mean, it seems to go on for ages off into the distance.

**Lev: **You could probably find the answer by using a map…

**Florence: **But that’s no fun! What if we followed the path by flying to see what lies at the end?

**Lev: **You can do that without me then. I’d rather stay here in the monastery where it’s safe.

**Florence: **Don’t kid yourself. You could use a change of scenery.

**Lev: **Of course I could…

_You head up from the fishing hall towards the dining hall. Inside, You see Kaeta, Nesreen, and Yuliya talking._

**Yuliya: **What is it I can look forward to following the professor?

**Kaeta: **Action. Adventure. Battle. You know, the usual.

**Nesreen: **I think you’ll like it… Even if the students can get to be a bit annoying at times.

**Yuliya: **You really aren’t selling it here.

**Kaeta: **It’s a lot of fun! It’s like being a student without actually being a student. The professor is pretty good at coaching people too.

**Nesreen: **Free education is the best type. It’s the lowest price there is.

**Yuliya: **Great… To be treated like a child. My dream come true.

_You see a pair standing in the dining hall, and upon getting closer, You realize it is Hegias and Novalee._

**Novalee: **I’ve heard that you have been making fewer public appearances since finding out about something with the mission to rescue Florence and Professor Wessin.

**Hegias: **I suppose you could say that… I’ve just been growing to enjoy time to myself.

**Novalee: **Either way, the school year is getting closer to ending. Perhaps it would be best if you reached out to others before the chance leaves forever.

**Hegias: **I’ll have to think about it… Last I remember, you aren’t exactly the most social either.

**Novalee: **That… That’s not the point here.

**Hegias: **If you say so…

_You leave the dining hall and head to the marketplace. Once there, You see Tuncay._

**Tuncay: **As much as I like smashing skulls and defeating the forces of evil, I think making weapons is far more enjoyable… I’ve been making weapons for other students in my class, and I want to get those done before the year ends… I’m sure they’ll make for great graduation gifts.

_You say that the others will certainly appreciate them._

**Tuncay: **Thanks, Professor.

_You leave the marketplace and go to the entrance hall. You see Cedric and Wolfgang standing together once there._

**Wolfgang: **It doesn’t seem as if Columbus territory has gotten any better since I left…

**Cedric: **Are you going to be going back there after the year ends?

**Wolfgang: **I think so… My father is waiting for me at home. I don’t want to just leave him. Maybe if I can get him to move…

**Cedric: **Well, just know that you will always have a home in Eir territory. I would be happy to set you up with a place to stay.

**Wolfgang: **Thanks for saying that, Cedric. It really does mean a lot.

**Cedric: **It’s the least I can do for a friend.

_You leave the entrance hall and head to the stables. Inside, You see Nora standing with Karim and Falon._

**Nora: **Horses are incredibly majestic… As are pegasi and wyverns.

**Falon: **As nice as they are, I don’t think I’d ever be able to ride them.

**Karim: **I’m sure it’s not as hard as you’re making it out to be. I find flying on wyverns thrilling.

**Nora: **Thrilling or not, I feel like it would just stress me out.

**Falon: **Who needs an animal companion when I have my trusty axe? I would rather keep them safe by leaving them at home.

**Karim: **Maybe I could teach you guys about it some time. You know, if you would be up for it.

**Nora: **It could be an interesting bonding experience…

**Falon: **I must apologize in advance if this goes horribly.

**Karim: **What have I gotten myself into…?

_You go to the knights’ hall, and inside, You encounter Miriam and Piers._

**Miriam: **It’s odd how quickly time flies… It seems as if the school year started just yesterday.

**Piers: **Even if we stay the same year after year, it’s almost sad to see each class come and go.

**Miriam: **Aw… Is this your way of admitting you have feelings after all?

**Piers: **I’m not going to dignify that question with an answer.

**Miriam: **Understandable… Still, I am worried about all that has happened.

**Piers: **You’re not the only one… It’s unfortunate.

_After finishing the conversation, You approach Wynne and Rodain, who are standing nearby._

**Wynne: **The last faction of Malice the students are going after… What could it mean?

**Rodain: **I don’t know. We’ve had groups that oppose the three countries on this continent. The fourth group is known for experimentation.

**Wynne: **What if the last one doesn’t like the church?

**Rodain: **That is possible… But I hope that’s not the case.

**Wynne: **That would be the big disaster Lady Aisa seems to be prepared for.

**Rodain: **I don’t like that idea… But there’s no way to figure it out now, so we might as well not worry.

**Wynne: **That’s one way of looking at it…

_You head north from the knights’ hall. You see Chris standing on a balcony overlooking a graveyard._

**Chris: **You know… Not many people have come by the graveyard here before. It’s odd to think how many people have died here at the monastery… I feel like that number will only increase if a war breaks out. I pray nothing goes that far… I don’t want to lose anyone else.

_You remark on her use of the word ‘else’._

**Chris: **Ah… My mother passed away when I was young. I never got the chance to get to know her. I don’t want that to happen again… So, I guess I’ll just have to do all I can. Don’t you worry, Professor. I’ll make sure we’re all okay.

_You go to the reception hall, and inside, You see Adrian speaking with Polly._

**Adrian: **So, Polly… What’s your plan for after the school year ends?

**Polly: **I’m not sure yet… Chances are I’ll be heading back to Enbarr, but I somehow feel like Chris isn’t going to want to do that.

**Adrian: **Well, don’t forget that the monastery has a place for you. I’m sure Lady Aisa wouldn’t mind taking you in for a while.

**Polly: **I’ll be sure to keep that in the back of my head. Thanks, Adrian.

**Adrian: **No problem.

_You head north to the cathedral. Inside, You see Illona._

**Illona: **I love listening to the choir practice in here… It’s great to hear so many people singing beautifully… I-I just hope the choir director doesn’t ask me to join in. I can’t do it. Before I know it, I’m fumbling over my words, and if I don’t say that my turtle needs to celebrate its birthday, I say yes… I think I’ll just hide here until after they’re done…

_After speaking to Illona, You approach Niko and Derric, who are standing together._

**Niko: **It seems like I don’t have much time to come down here to pray since I’m so busy managing the library…

**Derric: **I’m happy to pull you away from your work to bring you here. Even so, I feel like the Goddess understands if you can’t always come.

**Niko: **I hope she’s watching us from above… She’s the one who makes sure that I don’t die in my sleep.

**Derric: **Ha! I’d say the Goddess does more than that, but I suppose that’s one way too look at it.

_You go upstairs. You move to the commons room, and there, You see Herwig, Reese, and Jill standing together._

**Herwig: **As Malice forces grow in number, I must admit that I’m worried.

**Reese: **Do you think we’re going to have to go to war?

**Jill: **I don’t know. It’s hard to say at this point. I could see it swinging either way.

**Herwig: **It all depends on what happens over these next few months…

**Reese: **If this conflict doesn’t conclude by the school year’s end, I hope the students next year can take up the mantle.

**Jill: **It’s a frightening time to be in Garreg Mach… But we can’t let that show.

**Herwig: **After all, the students are counting on us to keep things positive.

**Reese: **I’m positively sure I can show them the glory of naps along the way.

**Jill: **How did I know you were going to say that…?

_You head to the library, where You see Raithius and Cordelia talking._

**Raithius: **Captain Torryn, are you going to be going with the professor this month to take out Malice?

**Cordelia: **I’m afraid not. I don’t have the time to do so now. Lady Aisa needs me here at the monastery.

**Raithius: **That’s unfortunate… I’m sure the professor would be happy to work with you again.

**Cordelia: **Maybe one day… For now, I’m sure you kids can handle it. I have faith in you.

**Raithius: **I didn’t expect you to say that, I must admit.

**Cordelia: **Don’t be shocked. I’m not as rough around the edges as I seem.

_After finishing in the library, You move to the audience chamber to see Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **We still are not sure what this last faction could be up to.

**Roy: **Their involvement with Malice shows their intentions loud and clear though.

**Aisa: **It is unfortunate, but we will not know until the end of the month comes.

**Roy: **Be sure to tell us everything you learn, Professor. Don’t hold anything back.

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I am glad you understand.

**Roy: **Until the time comes, good luck.

_You thank them before leaving to head back to your room._

**Seraphine: **I’m so sleepy…

_You arrive at your room and sit on your bed._

**Seraphine: **I wonder if this month will give us more answers than before… I sure do hope so. I’m not sure if I can take much more of this blind wandering. It’s going to frustrate me… Remembering more about the past wouldn’t hurt either.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **Who… Who were we? Why do I appear to you? Why am I so much younger? I don’t understand… But maybe one day, I will. One day, we will… Until then, goodnight.

_Seraphine goes to sleep. You lay down and think about what is to come. The threat of Malice is only continuing to grow, implying that something big is set to happen soon. You are not sure what it could be, but You figure the answer will come soon enough. Until then, You shut your eyes and go to sleep. You do not dream, but the tone of curiosity remains heavy in your heart all night… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this early since I'm going to be out of town
> 
> -Digital


	50. Chapter Eight: Echoes of Crescent II (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Black Eagles set out to defeat Malice, but You have another flashback of the past.

_On the last day of the moon, You wake up and rise to your feet. Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **Is it too much to ask for answers? Somehow, I think so, but I guess whatever happens will happen no matter what we want.

_You start to walk to the Black Eagles homeroom._

**Seraphine: **You know what else I would love? Finally remembering what the past was like for us. Why am I so much younger than you? Where in the world did I come from? Who are you really? How are you involved with Evenor Hepius? Why can only you see me? I can’t stop thinking about it.

_You arrive at the classroom, nodding silently. Seraphine disappears. Inside the classroom, You see the students of the Black Eagles, Herwig, Nesreen, Kaeta, and Yuliya._

**Herwig: **Good morning, Professor.

**Chris: **I think we’re ready to go.

**Polly: **Here’s to hoping this goes well.

**Florence: **I have faith.

**Aquillus: **I’m nervous about it. This could easily go horribly.

**Zelhira: **The enemy won’t hold back.

**Callisto: **Don’t let your confidence fall! We’ve got this!

**Tuncay: **We’ll bash their skulls in. No worries.

**Hegias: **Hold on… There’s something else important to do.

**Nesreen: **We have someone to introduce now.

**Kaeta: **Yuliya, say hello.

**Yuliya: **Hey, I guess.

**Herwig: **We’re set to finish off the fighters from Malice in the Empire.

**Chris: **They won’t escape. I promise.

**Polly: **Is everyone ready?

**Zelhira: **I know I am.

**Callisto: **I want to learn why this is happening sooner rather than later.

**Aquillus:** I’m curious as well.

**Tuncay: **I’m sure they have a reason for this… I just want to know it.

**Florence: **Hopefully we’ll learn it today.

**Kaeta: **I know I want to hear about it. I’m sick of not having any answers.

**Nesreen: **Lady Aisa will want to hear about this.

**Yuliya: **Of course…

**Herwig: **Gather your supplies. It’s time to head out.

**Polly: **We’ll be traveling for quite some time to get there.

**Callisto: **Guess we’ll have to stay calm for a while…

**Florence: **We can do that. No worries.

**Yuliya: **Goddess, save my soul…

**Aquillus: **Then let’s go.

**Zelhira: **Answers will come soon.

**Hegias: **If you’re so sure…

**Kaeta: **Optimism, everyone! Don’t let your spirits down.

**Tuncay: **Confident, I see…

**Nesreen: **Come on. Let’s just get to it.

**Chris: **We’ll be back soon with answers. I swear it.

_The students follow Herwig out of the room with Nesreen, Kaeta, and Yuliya taking up the rear. You follow them out as Seraphine appears again._

**Seraphine: **At least we don’t have to put up with the emperor this time… That’s a low bar to set, but it’s all I’ve really got at this point.

_You nod your agreement and start the journey toward Empire territory._

_When You arrive at your destination, You stand with the rest of your party._

**Herwig: **We’ve arrived.

**Chris: **I don’t see anyone…

**Zelhira: **Listen…

**Yuliya: **I can hear them.

**Aquillus: **Look to the east.

**Florence: **Get your weapons ready.

**Polly: **Hold on. I want to know if they’ll come out first.

**Hegias: **What if it’s an ambush.

**Nesreen: **But we need to gather information. Hold.

**Kaeta: **There’s the commander…

**Tuncay: **The armor is different than I expected.

**Callisto: **The distorted Crest is green this time.

_A man appears from the shadows. His name is Zane._

**Zane: **It seems the Church of Seiros noticed after all.

**Chris: **Who are you?

**Polly: **If I had to take a guess, I would say you dislike the church.

**Zane: **Looks like some of you have brains after all.

**Callisto: **He made it sound like the church’s name was something with a rotten taste.

**Florence: **This is the final faction of Malice. I’m sure of it.

**Herwig: **Why are you here?

**Zane: **It’s none of your business. You could have stayed safe if you hadn’t intruded.

**Aquillus: **That wasn’t a choice.

**Zane: **If you insist that’s the case, I suppose I’ll just have to end this here and now.

**Zelhira: **He means to start a fight.

**Hegias: **Of course he does.

**Tuncay: **What do you want?

**Zane: **From you? Nothing. There are others that I value highly.

**Nesreen: **Such as?

**Zane: **It’s rather simple… But I’ll let you figure it out on your own.

**Kaeta: **Coward!

**Zane: **I’ve had enough of this chatter. Let’s get this over with.

**Yuliya: **It’s time to fight.

**Chris: **Okay… It’s time to fight. Let’s do this!

_The battle begins. The battlefield is a somewhat open field with a few trees dotting the area. There are five small groups of enemy units moving closer with each passing turn. Reinforcements come in every once in a while, putting You on the defensive. Even if your party does not have the freedom of lashing out as aggressors, the Black Eagles hold their own. You muse on their growth throughout the year but say nothing of it out loud._

_If You initiate combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Zane: **I’ve heard quite a bit about you from the commanders… One of them knows you all too well. I wouldn’t be surprised if we fought on the same side one day, but until then, we are enemies, and I will have to try to kill you. Farewell!

_If Chris initiates combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **I want to know why you’re here.

**Zane: **It should be clear… Big changes are coming not only to Adrestia, but to the whole continent.

**Chris: **Are you planning a rebellion?

**Zane: **Perhaps…

**Chris: **My father is the emperor. If he hears of this--

**Zane: **That pathetic windbag doesn’t have a chance of finding us. He’s too much of a fool to see us.

**Chris: **Don’t get cocky.

**Zane: **I could say the same to you. Now, let’s end this once and for all!

_If Polly initiates combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Polly: **Charging into Empire territory is incredibly bold.

**Zane: **Perhaps… You have quite the courage, coming to confront me directly.

**Polly: **I have to stop you under orders from the church.

**Zane: **Obligation… Is that why you’re fighting? Pathetic.

**Polly: **My motivation matters not to you.

**Zane: **Keep telling yourself that… Let’s just end this.

**Polly: **If you insist.

_If Hegias initiates combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Zane: **I’ve heard about you… But I didn’t expect to meet you this way.

**Hegias: **You have heard of me?

**Zane: **Yes… Someone in Malice knows you well.

**Hegias: **No way…

**Zane: **I’m sure you’ll learn soon enough.

**Hegias: **I…

**Zane: **Enough talk. Let’s fight.

_If Nesreen initiates combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Nesreen: **You came to the Empire because you wanted something. You still want something.

**Zane: **And?

**Nesreen: **You want to start a rebellion. You’re working with Bazler. He wanted civil war, and so do you.

**Zane: **Civil war? That isn’t my aim… Mine is far greater… And it starts with ripping the Crest of Seiros from this damned country.

**Nesreen: **You don’t like the church then… The connection of the Faixnoye family to the church brings you here.

**Zane: **So, you aren’t as dumb as I thought… Impressive. Too bad you won’t be able to tell a soul.

_If Yuliya initiates combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Zane: **Albinean… How intriguing.

**Yuliya: **What of it?

**Zane: **Why are you fighting with the same people who destroyed your home?

**Yuliya: **…

**Zane: **There are others out there… Others who would be ashamed of you.

**Yuliya: **That’s none of your business…

**Zane: **If you need somewhere to stay… Know that Malice is ready to accept you.

**Yuliya: **...I think not. Goodbye.

_If anyone else initiates combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Zane: **It’s time that we rid this world of the dreaded Crest of Seiros… And let the church fall with it!

_When Zane is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Zane: **I am… But a piece of Malice… You can remove me… But the rest continues to pursue destruction… You have won… Nothing…

_After the battle, You stand at the center of the field with your students. You look at Zane’s body. Something appears to be sticking out of his jacket. Seraphine appears next to you._

**Seraphine: **Is that… A piece of paper?

_You grab the page and start to look at it. The surface is grimy and slick. You hold it up near your face to read it. Chris looks over your shoulder. The other students gather around You, but they are far from being close to the page._

**Chris: **He wanted the church to crumble…

**Polly: **The plan was to go through the Empire.

**Aquillus: **What else is on there?

**Zelhira: **Plans are written about striking elsewhere next month.

**Callisto: **It appears to be a minor Faerghus church.

**Hegias: **Why attack a small church?

**Nesreen: **It would send a message to the larger church.

**Yuliya: **It’s a threat.

**Kaeta: **What are they thinking by pulling something like this?

**Herwig: **They think it would further their goals.

**Tuncay: **I don’t know what they’re thinking.

**Florence:** I doubt they want us to understand in the first place.

**Chris: **Lady Aisa has to hear about this… Goddess above, I don’t feel good…

**Aquillus: **Professor? Are you okay?

**Tuncay: **You look ready to collapse.

**Nesreen: **Do you need to lay down?

**Kaeta: **Wait… The paper is covered with something…

**Zelhira: **That smell is disgusting…

**Herwig: **Jill told me about a poison that would work like this…! Let the paper go.

_You drop the page but start to cough soon after._

**Florence: **Professor, can you hear us?

**Yuliya: **My guess is that it’s something that grows vicious when inhaled.

**Hegias: **The professor was closest to it…

**Callisto: **Focus on the sound of my voice…

**Polly: **Professor? Wait!

_Your legs give out from beneath You, and You are unconscious before your face even hits the ground._

_While You are asleep, You see the open field You had just fought the battle in. You are much younger now as well, having shrunk significantly. You see Evenor standing before You. Seraphine is nowhere to be seen._

**Evenor: **Here we are…

_You ask Evenor if You are ever to return to Enbarr, the capital of Adrestia._

**Evenor: **Enbarr? Never. We aren’t going to be returning there ever again. We’re moving around from here on out.

_You question as to if You will ever see your mother again._

**Evenor: **I… I am afraid she can no longer care for you. I will be the one looking after you from here on out. Your name will need to change as well. We don’t want anyone to come looking for you.

_You nod slowly._

**Evenor: **Hmph… The damn child who ruined our lives is called Rhian. She’s dead to the public while you are appearing for the first time… If she took your name, we’ll just have to steal hers, or at least one like hers… From this day forth, you are Rion.

_You nod again._

**Evenor: **If anyone ever calls to you using your birth name, ignore them. That version of you is dead. Rion is rising. Do you understand?

_You say yes._

**Evenor: **I am glad to hear it… I’m going to buy us a room in the nearby inn. After that, we move towards Leicester. We cannot stay in one place for too long. Come.

_You follow Evenor as she walks toward the nearby town. You stop upon hearing a baby crying. You glance around, not sure of where the sound is coming from. You see a small child manifest seemingly from nowhere nearby. It appears to be a baby who is no more than a few days old. Her hair can barely be seen, but it is tinted with green. The child is wrapped in a white blanket. An unknown voice speaks to You as You attempt to pick her up, though You find that she cannot be touched._

**???: **How strange… A secondary version of me, but not one to be expected… I shall call you… Seraphine. Yes. Seraphine. Watch her well, Crescent.

_The vision fades away as the baby Seraphine disappears enough nothingness. You see blackness all around You, unsure of if You are alive or dead…_

_The vision ends when You open your eyes._

_  
_**Chris: **Professor? Can you hear me?

**Callisto: **You sure did freak us out.

**Florence: **What happened in the first place?

**Herwig: **Jill told me that some poisons can cause harm when breathed in. The professor got too close and got too much of it in their lungs. Luckily, not much more took place… If I had to guess, it was starting to impact Chris as well, and if we had waited too long, we all could have been hurt.

**Nesreen: **Even in death, he still insisted on messing with us.

**Kaeta: **What a little punk…

**Polly: **Even if we need to be cautious, we can copy the note to another paper. We can give the copy to Lady Aisa.

**Aquillus: **I’m so glad I brought paper along.

**Hegias: **Thank the goddess for you, Aquillus.

**Tuncay: **Make sure not to breathe in a lot.

**Yuliya: **Always trying to hold us back, it seems…

**Zelhira: **Professor, can you stand on your own?

_You rise to your feet. After stumbling briefly, You steady._

**Chris: **I’m glad to see you can at least stand.

**Polly: **We shouldn’t remain here.

**Hegias: **The professor needs to rest.

**Tuncay: **We don’t want things to get worse.

**Callisto: **We’ve finished our business, so why remain?.

**Aquillus: **I’ve finished copying the new information over.

**Nesreen: **I’ll be sure to deliver it to Lady Aisa when we return.

**Kaeta: **Is everyone ready?

**Yuliya: **Let’s get out of here… I’m sick of this place.

**Zelhira: **Take it easy, Professor.

**Florence: **Don’t push too much.

**Herwig: **Speak up if you need help.

_You nod and start to follow the others in your party. Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **That was another memory… You seemed so young. You were about as tall as I am. I was a baby… Who was that voice? Why did it call you Crescent?

_You suggest that perhaps that was the birth name Evenor told You not to speak of._

**Seraphine: **It’s finally a clue to figure out who we are! Crescent… A person who went missing when you were about my size. I would say that was about ten years ago. I like that we finally have something to use in finding the truth.

_You ask if she thinks You should bring this up to anyone._

**Seraphine: **I… I don’t know yet. Keep it secret for the time being. If we think it would be best to tell others about, we can do that later. For now, I would rather be safe than sorry.

_You nod._

**Seraphine: **I’m so happy we have something else… I don’t know exactly what it all meant, but it’s still a start, and that’s what I care about.

_You nod once again as Seraphine disappears. You cannot stop repeating the memory in the back of your mind over and over, but You still do not know what it could all mean. A million questions are stirring beneath the surface, but You do not know how to word any of them, so they are all left unspoken._

_When You arrive back at the monastery, You head to the audience chamber to see Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor. I take it your mission was a success.

**Roy: **I can tell you have something else to tell us though. What’s on your mind?

_You say that a letter was found on the commander’s body talking about an attack on a minor Faerghus church that is to take place in the next month._

**Roy: **I see…

**Aisa: **I do not know which church in particular they could be discussing, but I will find out.

**Roy: **We won’t let them get away with this. They have done enough harm as it is.

**Aisa: **What about the forces you had to fight? Was there anything odd about them?

_You explain that the fifth faction of Malice has a grudge against the church._

**Aisa: **I feared that would be the case.

**Roy: **I wonder why they would hate the church…

**Aisa: **The attack on a smaller church seems to be sending a message to us though.

**Roy: **It’s as if they mean that we’re next…

**Aisa: **Do you have the paper with this message on it, Professor?

_You explain that Nesreen is planning to bring it by later on._

**Roy: **I’m glad to hear it. The more evidence we have to go off, the better.

**Aisa: **You look exhausted, Professor… Are you alright?

_You nod, not wanting to explain your memory._

**Roy: **If you insist… Try not to push yourself too hard.

**Aisa: **Yes. Please, return to your room and get some rest.

**Roy: **We’ll send for you if we need you again.

**Aisa: **Feel free to ask for help. We are happy to support you.

**Roy: **I feel the same as Lady Aisa. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance.

**Aisa: **Until we meet again… Have a nice evening.

**Roy: **Goodnight, Professor.

_You nod to them both and leave the audience chamber. Seraphine appears next to You._

**Seraphine: **I never thought I would say that I’m happy to have passed out, and yet, here we are… We can’t go to our room just yet though. We have to go and see the kids one more time. After that, we’re free to start theorizing about what all that meant.

_You yawn._

**Seraphine: **Well… That can wait until after you’ve slept for a while. I guess that letter took more out of you than we thought… I feel like bouncing off the walls, but I’m not exactly physical, so I suppose it makes sense we would be impacted differently.

_You start to head towards the classroom._

**Seraphine: **Let’s try and take care of this quickly, okay?

_You nod as You push the door to the Black Eagles homeroom open. Seraphine vanishes once again._

**Herwig: **And so the month ends.

**Nesreen: **Even if we didn’t expand much upon what we knew, we learned two important things.

**Yuliya: **First, the fifth group of Malice is out to destroy the Church of Seiros.

**Kaeta: **Second, their next target is a minor church in Faerghus.

**Zelhira:** At the very least, we know what’s coming next.

**Tuncay: **It’s as if they wanted us to find it.

**Aquillus: **I wonder if the note is a trap.

**Hegias: **After that, they can ambush us.

**Callisto: **If we’re prepared, it won’t happen though.

**Florence: **We’ll have to be careful.

**Polly: **Even if we avoid danger as a whole in the next month, I want you all safe for it. Don’t do anything stupid.

**Chris: **I-I don’t want any of you hurt either…

**Herwig: **Don’t do anything dumb. I will find out.

**Aquillus: **Ominous.

**Nesreen: **Let’s wrap this up quickly. I need to deliver the letter to Lady Aisa.

**Kaeta: **What do you think she’ll do about it?

**Yuliya: **Send us to fight them off, obviously.

**Callisto: **What else would she want us to do?

**Florence: **We’ll ensure it doesn’t end badly.

**Hegias: **I hope it goes well like that.

**Tuncay: **You could use a little confidence. All of you.

**Zelhira: **If you insist…

**Chris: **Before that time comes, we need to rest.

**Polly: **Preparation is vital.

**Herwig: **It’s been a long day. Go rest.

**Chris: **Training will start again soon, so be ready.

**Aquillus: **Have a nice night, everyone.

**Nesreen: **Don’t die.

**Kaeta: **It’s time to start getting ready to beat them up.

**Yuliya: **You are way too excited about this.

**Florence: **I’m wiped… Time to crash.

**Callisto: **I feel the same.

**Tuncay: **I’m going to sleep. Night.

**Hegias: **Stay safe.

**Zelhira: **Farewell.

**Polly: **Get better soon, Professor.

_The students all leave the classroom. You start to walk to your room as Seraphine manifests._

**Seraphine: **Next month… Next month, we’re going to find out more about Malice. I’m sure of it. When we aren’t on the battlefield, we’re going to find out more about you… Crescent… What an odd name.

_You nod as You sit on your bed._

**Seraphine: **I have a million questions, but… I’m at least glad we have a lead. Crescent… We don’t even have surname, but funny enough, I don’t mind. For now, this is enough… But I can tell you’re exhausted. I won’t keep you awake with my endless prattling. Have a nice rest, Professor… Crescent…

_You lay down and fall asleep quickly. In the night, the same dream of your newly recovered memory loops over and over. You learn nothing from the repeated cycles, but You find yourself more determined than ever to figure out the truth. Seraphine’s enthusiasm has proven itself to be fiercely contagious. However, answers still lie out of reach, meaning You will have to work if You wish to find out who You are and who You were. The name Crescent rings endlessly in your head, and You wish You could find the one who named You as such in the first place… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't wait to hear the theories about Crescent tbh
> 
> Also if you're reading this around the time of this chapter's release (February 13, 2020), I'm working on the Ashen Wolves pack for Alternative. I have three slots left if you want to submit for that. Go to the discord server in the link tree on my profile to reserve a spot if you're interested. 
> 
> That aside, I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> -Digital


	51. Chapter Eight: Echoes of Crescent I (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You plan to defeat roaming Malice fighters.

_You wake up at the start of the Red Wolf Moon and get to your feet. Seraphine manifests at your side as You go towards Aisa’s audience chamber._

**Seraphine: **Here’s to hoping we don’t have to put up with any arrogant nobles or troublesome gang members… We’ve had enough of that. If we see anything like that, I might just have to sink into the ground and never come back out. You’ll have to forgive me if I leave you in such a way.

_You walk into the audience chamber as Seraphine disappears._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor.

**Roy: **We have received new information about a stir in Empire territory.

**Aisa: **At first, we suspected it was Thaddeus Bazler resurfacing again after all this time. He still hasn’t been seen publicly since he was kicked out of his territory.

**Roy: **That was roughly four months ago now. It’s incredible that he managed to evade being seen for all this time.

**Aisa: **I do not want to ask about how he managed to do that…

**Roy: **Regardless, near Bazler’s old estate, many odd groups have been seen coming and going. None of the other nobles of the Empire have moved to stop them.

**Aisa: **They have all been moving swiftly enough to avoid being spotted by most people, but a few informants have sent messages back to the church to say what has happened.

**Roy: **This month, your job is to investigate the disturbances in the area. We don’t want to allow any of these forces to make moves towards the monastery.

**Aisa: **Many of these groups are familiar. One wears the distorted Crest of Seiros, a sign of Malice in the Adrestian Empire. Another’s armor matches the group that assassinated Franz Josefa nearly two decades ago. You saw one group just last month as part of the group that attacked in Columbus territory. Next, there are mages… Mages last seen when Herwig and Florence were taken.

**Roy: **The final group is wholly unfamiliar to us, but they seem to be against the church.

**Aisa: **We cannot say for sure what they have said against the Church of Seiros, but…

**Roy: **It’s something. We would like your help in eliminating this group of Malice forces before things spiral out of control.

**Aisa: **A lot has happened already, and we do not want anything to get worse.

**Roy: **We’ll be sending whichever class you select to teach along with you. That being said, you should make your choice.

**Aisa: **So, Professor… What will it be?

_You ponder your options for a moment before deciding to go with the Blue Lions house._

**Aisa: **The Blue Lions will be your house this month?

_You nod._

**Roy: **In that case, you should get on over there.

_You start to walk towards the door._

**Aisa: **Professor, wait. We forgot to tell you something.

**Roy: **Ah, yes… You will be joined this month by a knight. Her name is Yuliya. She will be with you from here on out.

**Aisa: **We still would like to have a majority of the knights here at the monastery in case something bad happens, but sending a few with you each month surely would not hurt.

**Roy: **We trust you to lead her well with your other students.

**Aisa: **Until we meet again, Professor.

_You leave the room and start heading towards the Blue Lions homeroom. Seraphine appears and walks beside You._

**Seraphine: **Five different groups of Malice… That’s what I’m hearing. They’re all gathering near the old Bazler estate. I can’t help but wonder why they would want to go there. Bazler is gone. We ran him off his land a few months ago.

_You say that You do not understand it either._

**Seraphine: **I’m sure we’ll find out sooner or later, but… It’s still frustrating. We keep going out on missions, but we never seem to find the answers we seek. It’s just out of reach.

_You nod._

**Seraphine: **Regardless, there isn’t much we can do about it at the moment. Let’s go and see the students.

_You enter the Blue Lions classroom as Seraphine disappears. You see the students of the Blue Lions house standing with Reese._

**Reese: **Morning, Professor.

**Magnolia: **There’s no time to lose. Let’s start discussing.

**Falon: **I agree. I want to know what we’re looking forward to.

**Aestlyn: **Looking forward to is not how I would put it, but okay.

**Cassia: **Regardless, let’s get into it.

**Karim: **What’s coming for us, Professor?

_You explain that You will be facing off against many different factions of Malice that have come together to stir up trouble in Empire territory._

**Kyle: **We’re returning to the Empire… Huh.

**Nora: **Five groups… That’s more than I was thinking.

**Illona: **They could overwhelm a small noble house and take over that territory if they so wished…

**Magnolia: **Their different groups aren’t small either, which only makes this worse… I don’t have a good feeling about this.

**Aestlyn: **One group alone is terrifying…

**Illona: **What do we do about five of them?

**Nora: **We won’t be putting up with too many of them, so we’ll survive. Don’t worry yourselves about it too much.

**Kyle: **How are you so sure?

**Falon: **If there were too many of them, they would have been spotted, but barely anyone mentioned seeing them.

**Cassia: **If they kept from being seen up to now, they must be trying to hide themselves from the public eye.

**Karim: **It’s hard to be stealthy when there are too many fighters to manage, so they had to go small this time.

**Reese: **What could their plan be?

**Illona: **It can’t be good.

**Karim: **They must have targeted the Empire for some specific reason, but what could it possibly be?

**Cassia: **The Adrestian Empire is not a weak nation. It’s got the strongest government at the center on the continent.

**Nora: **Noble arguments aren’t an issue like in the Alliance.

**Kyle: **The ruler is still alive on top of that where Faerghus has a replacement on the throne due to the assassination so many years ago.

**Aestlyn: **Why not gather in a weaker area?

**Magnolia: **Something about the Empire drew them there.

**Reese: **Their motive must be important to them if they risked so much for it.

**Falon: **I hope the battle hints at what that motive could be.

**Illona: **What if they’re planning on taking over the Empire? I can’t think of any other reasons why they would go there…

**Nora: **Could they hope to oppose Emperor Hendrix’s rule?

**Kyle:** He doesn’t know the meaning of mercy. If he hears about this, they’re dead.

**Aestlyn: **I don’t know what they could be plotting, but the idea is already making me feel sick.

**Cassia: **How did they sneak through so much of Adrestia without being seen? You would expect someone to notice.

**Karim: **Perhaps Empire nobles aren’t as bright as we hoped.

**Reese: **Last time we went out, we learned about Lord Columbus’ involvement with Malice. Maybe other nobles are tied into it too.

**Falon: **The future is unsure, in other words.

**Magnolia: **I can’t help but wonder how it will go.

**Karim: **We’re going to need to put in quite a bit of work to win the day. With so many people collaborating…

**Illona: **We should be able to win. I hope.

**Nora: **We’ll be fine. We have good teachers.

**Cassia: **We’re growing quite a bit as well.

**Reese: **We can’t do much now. The time hasn’t come yet. We’ve got other stuff to do at the moment anyways.

**Kyle: **Time to split up then.

**Aestlyn: **Until next time, everyone.

**Falon: **Quite a bit is on our shoulders.

**Magnolia: **I think we’ll be fine. We have this covered.

**Falon: **I hope you’re right there.

_The Blue Lions students leave the room. You watch them go before Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **I’m already having a bad feeling about all of this. I know it’s a bit soon to be getting upset, but… I don’t know. I want to hear about how Malice is able to run around the Empire without anyone stopping them. If they really are planning a takeover of the Empire, why aren’t they being more secretive about it? Just because the nobles haven’t pointed it out doesn’t mean it isn’t happening… I don’t get it.

_You say that the answers will come soon enough._

**Seraphine: **I know that’s true, but… Still, it’s overwhelming. I’m sure we can handle it, but it feels as if we’re leaving a thousand avenues open without exploring. Can’t we just get one answer?

_You admit that You feel the same._

**Seraphine: **Nothing we can do about it now though… Let’s just look around the monastery. I don’t want to think about any of this anymore. I’ve had enough of this.

_You nod and start to look around after leaving the classroom. You immediately run into Callisto, Kyle, and Adeline talking in the courtyard._

**Callisto: **The ball is next month… I’m so excited.

**Kyle: **I heard the White Heron Cup is next month as well.

**Adeline: **The White Heron Cup… What is it?

**Callisto: **A dancing competition. The best dancers from each house perform to try and be the top performer.

**Kyle: **The top performer gets certified as a performer in the monastery. Roy leads the competition.

**Adeline: **Wow… One person wins out of all the houses? That’s a lot of pressure…

**Callisto: **Maybe they’ll change it so one person from each house wins instead. I’m not sure.

**Kyle: **I’m not sure about the finer details, but I’m sure we’ll hear soon enough.

**Adeline: **I’ll have to keep that in the back of my mind…

_You approach the training hall after leaving the Officers Academy. Inside, You encounter Magnolia and Cassia, who are talking._

**Magnolia: **Cassia, I have to say that I’m really impressed with you.

**Cassia: **Seriously? You… You’re impressed?

**Magnolia: **Of course. You’re so dedicated when it comes to training. I find it incredible.

**Cassia: **I’m just doing my best…

**Magnolia: **And still so humble… Will you help me learn more about the lance? I think we could teach each other a lot.

**Cassia: **I don’t know what to say… If you wish to learn, who am I to turn you down? You are set to be the queen one day.

**Magnolia: **You don’t need to feel forced.

**Cassia: **No… It’s okay. I’m happy to teach you. Let’s get started.

_You leave the training hall and head to the first floor of dorms. Once there, You see Sofia standing with William._

**Sofia: **You know what I can’t stop thinking about?

**William: **What?

**Sofia: **Back when there was the mission to track the killers of the previous king of Faerghus, a gas adapted from dark magic was used to knock people unconscious.

**William: **That’s true… It hasn’t been seen since, and nobody has been able to figure out how it worked.

**Sofia: **How strange… I wonder if we’ll see it again.

**William: **Given our luck, I would wager that we will…

_You head to the second floor of dorms. You see Aestlyn standing at the far edge of the row of rooms._

**Aestlyn: **It’s so odd to think that the year is over halfway over now… We’ll have our graduation ceremony at the end of March, and after that… We’re all going our separate ways. Who knows if we’ll ever see each other again? Plus, we’ll be leaving the Malice situation unresolved… It doesn’t sit well with me.

_You nod your agreement._

**Aestlyn: **No reason on worrying about it now though… The present is what matters above all else.

_You leave the second floor of dorms to head into the greenhouse. Inside, You see Zelhira standing with Aquillus._

**Zelhira: **Some plants have been known to have magical qualities… I wonder if any of these plants would fit with that.

**Aquillus: **Who can say? I’m not exactly a professional when it comes to plants.

**Zelhira: **Perhaps we could experiment with some and see what results we could find… It could help us in the fight against Malice.

**Aquillus: **I wouldn’t be so sure… But I suppose there’s no harm in hoping.

_You head out to the fishing hole. Standing at the edge of the dock are Florence and Lev._

**Florence: **I can’t help but wonder where our little fishing hole leads. I mean, it seems to go on for ages off into the distance.

**Lev: **You could probably find the answer by using a map…

**Florence: **But that’s no fun! What if we followed the path by flying to see what lies at the end?

**Lev: **You can do that without me then. I’d rather stay here in the monastery where it’s safe.

**Florence: **Don’t kid yourself. You could use a change of scenery.

**Lev: **Of course I could…

_You head up from the fishing hall towards the dining hall. Inside, You see Kaeta, Nesreen, and Yuliya talking._

**Yuliya: **What is it I can look forward to following the professor?

**Kaeta: **Action. Adventure. Battle. You know, the usual.

**Nesreen: **I think you’ll like it… Even if the students can get to be a bit annoying at times.

**Yuliya: **You really aren’t selling it here.

**Kaeta: **It’s a lot of fun! It’s like being a student without actually being a student. The professor is pretty good at coaching people too.

**Nesreen: **Free education is the best type. It’s the lowest price there is.

**Yuliya: **Great… To be treated like a child. My dream come true.

_You see a pair standing in the dining hall, and upon getting closer, You realize it is Hegias and Novalee._

**Novalee: **I’ve heard that you have been making fewer public appearances since finding out about something with the mission to rescue Florence and Professor Wessin.

**Hegias: **I suppose you could say that… I’ve just been growing to enjoy time to myself.

**Novalee: **Either way, the school year is getting closer to ending. Perhaps it would be best if you reached out to others before the chance leaves forever.

**Hegias: **I’ll have to think about it… Last I remember, you aren’t exactly the most social either.

**Novalee: **That… That’s not the point here.

**Hegias: **If you say so…

_You leave the dining hall and head to the marketplace. Once there, You see Tuncay._

**Tuncay: **As much as I like smashing skulls and defeating the forces of evil, I think making weapons is far more enjoyable… I’ve been making weapons for other students in my class, and I want to get those done before the year ends… I’m sure they’ll make for great graduation gifts.

_You say that the others will certainly appreciate them._

**Tuncay: **Thanks, Professor.

_You leave the marketplace and go to the entrance hall. You see Cedric and Wolfgang standing together once there._

**Wolfgang: **It doesn’t seem as if Columbus territory has gotten any better since I left…

**Cedric: **Are you going to be going back there after the year ends?

**Wolfgang: **I think so… My father is waiting for me at home. I don’t want to just leave him. Maybe if I can get him to move…

**Cedric: **Well, just know that you will always have a home in Eir territory. I would be happy to set you up with a place to stay.

**Wolfgang: **Thanks for saying that, Cedric. It really does mean a lot.

**Cedric: **It’s the least I can do for a friend.

_You leave the entrance hall and head to the stables. Inside, You see Nora standing with Karim and Falon._

**Nora: **Horses are incredibly majestic… As are pegasi and wyverns.

**Falon: **As nice as they are, I don’t think I’d ever be able to ride them.

**Karim: **I’m sure it’s not as hard as you’re making it out to be. I find flying on wyverns thrilling.

**Nora: **Thrilling or not, I feel like it would just stress me out.

**Falon: **Who needs an animal companion when I have my trusty axe? I would rather keep them safe by leaving them at home.

**Karim: **Maybe I could teach you guys about it some time. You know, if you would be up for it.

**Nora: **It could be an interesting bonding experience…

**Falon: **I must apologize in advance if this goes horribly.

**Karim: **What have I gotten myself into…?

_You go to the knights’ hall, and inside, You encounter Miriam and Piers._

**Miriam: **It’s odd how quickly time flies… It seems as if the school year started just yesterday.

**Piers: **Even if we stay the same year after year, it’s almost sad to see each class come and go.

**Miriam: **Aw… Is this your way of admitting you have feelings after all?

**Piers: **I’m not going to dignify that question with an answer.

**Miriam: **Understandable… Still, I am worried about all that has happened.

**Piers: **You’re not the only one… It’s unfortunate.

_After finishing the conversation, You approach Wynne and Rodain, who are standing nearby._

**Wynne: **The last faction of Malice the students are going after… What could it mean?

**Rodain: **I don’t know. We’ve had groups that oppose the three countries on this continent. The fourth group is known for experimentation.

**Wynne: **What if the last one doesn’t like the church?

**Rodain: **That is possible… But I hope that’s not the case.

**Wynne: **That would be the big disaster Lady Aisa seems to be prepared for.

**Rodain: **I don’t like that idea… But there’s no way to figure it out now, so we might as well not worry.

**Wynne: **That’s one way of looking at it…

_You head north from the knights’ hall. You see Chris standing on a balcony overlooking a graveyard._

**Chris: **You know… Not many people have come by the graveyard here before. It’s odd to think how many people have died here at the monastery… I feel like that number will only increase if a war breaks out. I pray nothing goes that far… I don’t want to lose anyone else.

_You remark on her use of the word ‘else’._

**Chris: **Ah… My mother passed away when I was young. I never got the chance to get to know her. I don’t want that to happen again… So, I guess I’ll just have to do all I can. Don’t you worry, Professor. I’ll make sure we’re all okay.

_You go to the reception hall, and inside, You see Adrian speaking with Polly._

**Adrian: **So, Polly… What’s your plan for after the school year ends?

**Polly: **I’m not sure yet… Chances are I’ll be heading back to Enbarr, but I somehow feel like Chris isn’t going to want to do that.

**Adrian: **Well, don’t forget that the monastery has a place for you. I’m sure Lady Aisa wouldn’t mind taking you in for a while.

**Polly: **I’ll be sure to keep that in the back of my head. Thanks, Adrian.

**Adrian: **No problem.

_You head north to the cathedral. Inside, You see Illona._

**Illona: **I love listening to the choir practice in here… It’s great to hear so many people singing beautifully… I-I just hope the choir director doesn’t ask me to join in. I can’t do it. Before I know it, I’m fumbling over my words, and if I don’t say that my turtle needs to celebrate its birthday, I say yes… I think I’ll just hide here until after they’re done…

_After speaking to Illona, You approach Niko and Derric, who are standing together._

**Niko: **It seems like I don’t have much time to come down here to pray since I’m so busy managing the library…

**Derric: **I’m happy to pull you away from your work to bring you here. Even so, I feel like the Goddess understands if you can’t always come.

**Niko: **I hope she’s watching us from above… She’s the one who makes sure that I don’t die in my sleep.

**Derric: **Ha! I’d say the Goddess does more than that, but I suppose that’s one way too look at it.

_You go upstairs. You move to the commons room, and there, You see Herwig, Reese, and Jill standing together._

**Herwig: **As Malice forces grow in number, I must admit that I’m worried.

**Reese: **Do you think we’re going to have to go to war?

**Jill: **I don’t know. It’s hard to say at this point. I could see it swinging either way.

**Herwig: **It all depends on what happens over these next few months…

**Reese: **If this conflict doesn’t conclude by the school year’s end, I hope the students next year can take up the mantle.

**Jill: **It’s a frightening time to be in Garreg Mach… But we can’t let that show.

**Herwig: **After all, the students are counting on us to keep things positive.

**Reese: **I’m positively sure I can show them the glory of naps along the way.

**Jill: **How did I know you were going to say that…?

_You head to the library, where You see Raithius and Cordelia talking._

**Raithius: **Captain Torryn, are you going to be going with the professor this month to take out Malice?

**Cordelia: **I’m afraid not. I don’t have the time to do so now. Lady Aisa needs me here at the monastery.

**Raithius: **That’s unfortunate… I’m sure the professor would be happy to work with you again.

**Cordelia: **Maybe one day… For now, I’m sure you kids can handle it. I have faith in you.

**Raithius: **I didn’t expect you to say that, I must admit.

**Cordelia: **Don’t be shocked. I’m not as rough around the edges as I seem.

_After finishing in the library, You move to the audience chamber to see Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **We still are not sure what this last faction could be up to.

**Roy: **Their involvement with Malice shows their intentions loud and clear though.

**Aisa: **It is unfortunate, but we will not know until the end of the month comes.

**Roy: **Be sure to tell us everything you learn, Professor. Don’t hold anything back.

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I am glad you understand.

**Roy: **Until the time comes, good luck.

_You thank them before leaving to head back to your room._

**Seraphine: **I’m so sleepy…

_You arrive at your room and sit on your bed._

**Seraphine: **I wonder if this month will give us more answers than before… I sure do hope so. I’m not sure if I can take much more of this blind wandering. It’s going to frustrate me… Remembering more about the past wouldn’t hurt either.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **Who… Who were we? Why do I appear to you? Why am I so much younger? I don’t understand… But maybe one day, I will. One day, we will… Until then, goodnight.

_Seraphine goes to sleep. You lay down and think about what is to come. The threat of Malice is only continuing to grow, implying that something big is set to happen soon. You are not sure what it could be, but You figure the answer will come soon enough. Until then, You shut your eyes and go to sleep. You do not dream, but the tone of curiosity remains heavy in your heart all night… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't post this last night since I was really busy and basically passed out as soon as I got home but I am here with a new chapter now
> 
> I was out at a forensics tournament and took sixth overall in my event which is pretty mcheckin cool
> 
> -Digital


	52. Chapter Eight: Echoes of Crescent II (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Blue Lions set out to defeat Malice, but You have another flashback of the past.

_On the last day of the moon, You wake up and rise to your feet. Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **Is it too much to ask for answers? Somehow, I think so, but I guess whatever happens will happen no matter what we want.

_You start to walk to the Blue Lions homeroom._

**Seraphine: **You know what else I would love? Finally remembering what the past was like for us. Why am I so much younger than you? Where in the world did I come from? Who are you really? How are you involved with Evenor Hepius? Why can only you see me? I can’t stop thinking about it.

_You arrive at the classroom, nodding silently. Seraphine disappears. Inside the classroom, You see the students of the Blue Lions house, Reese, Nesreen, Kaeta, and Yuliya._

**Reese: **Good morning, Professor.

**Magnolia: **We’re just about ready to head to the Empire.

**Falon: **I can’t say for sure how this will end, but hopefully it’ll go our way.

**Aestlyn: **I think we’ll be okay.

**Illona: **But what if the enemy is too strong?

**Nora: **Strong or not, we can handle it.

**Cassia: **Worry is natural, but we can’t let it get to us.

**Karim: **We have this all under control.

**Kyle: **Hold on. We have something important to do really quick.

**Nesreen: **We have someone to introduce now.

**Kaeta: **Yuliya, say hello.

**Yuliya: **Hey, I guess.

**Reese: **We’re supposed to head out to the Empire and defeat the Malice soldiers there.

**Magnolia: **I won’t let them get off without punishment.

**Falon: **Is everyone ready?

**Nora: **I think so.

**Kyle: **I’m ready to go. I want to hear about why this is happening.

**Cassia: **I’m curious as well…

**Karim: **What could they be planning and why?

**Aestlyn: **Hopefully, we’ll find out soon.

**Kaeta: **I know I want to hear about it. I’m sick of not having any answers.

**Nesreen: **Lady Aisa will want to hear about this.

**Yuliya: **Of course…

**Reese: **Grab what’s left to pick up.

**Falon: **We have a lot of traveling ahead of us.

**Nora: **We’ll have to relax for a while.

**Cassia: **The suspense isn’t going to be fun to wait through…

**Yuliya: **Goddess, save my soul…

**Aestlyn: **Let’s go!

**Karim: **We’ll learn more today. Promise.

**Kyle: **We have to.

**Kaeta: **Optimism, everyone! Don’t let your spirits down.

**Illona: **Let’s do this!

**Nesreen: **Come on. Let’s just get to it.

**Chris: **When we come back, we’ll have answers. I’m sure of it.

_The students follow Reese out of the room with Nesreen, Kaeta, and Yuliya taking up the rear. You follow them out as Seraphine appears again._

**Seraphine: **At least we don’t have to put up with the emperor this time… That’s a low bar to set, but it’s all I’ve really got at this point.

_You nod your agreement and start the journey toward Empire territory._

_When You arrive at your destination, You stand with the rest of your party._

**Reese: **Welcome to the Empire, everyone.

**Magnolia:** This place is deserted.

**Nora: **Don’t speak for a moment.

**Yuliya: **I can hear them.

**Karim: **They’re to the east.

**Kyle: **We should ready our weapons.

**Falon: **Hold on. Let’s see if they come out first.

**Aestlyn: **What if they ambush us?

**Nesreen: **But we need to gather information. Hold.

**Kaeta: **There’s the commander…

**Illona: **Their armor looks odd.

**Cassia: **Their emblem is green instead of red, blue, or yellow.

_A man appears from the shadows. His name is Zane._

**Zane: **It seems the Church of Seiros noticed after all.

**Magnolia: **Who might you be?

**Falon: **I get the feeling they don’t like the church.

**Zane: **Looks like some of you have brains after all.

**Cassia: **The way he said the church’s title… His tone was filled with disgust.

**Nora:** This must be the fifth group of Malice.

**Reese: **Why are you in the Empire?

**Zane: **It’s none of your business. You could have stayed safe if you hadn’t intruded.

**Aestlyn: **We had to come here.

**Zane: **If you insist that’s the case, I suppose I’ll just have to end this here and now.

**Karim: **His intentions are obvious.

**Illona: **Why am I not surprised?

**Kyle: **You must want something from us.

**Zane: **You? Nothing. There are others that I value highly.

**Nesreen: **Such as?

**Zane: **It’s rather simple… But I’ll let you figure it out on your own.

**Kaeta: **Coward!

**Zane: **I’ve had enough of this chatter. Let’s get this over with.

**Yuliya: **It’s time to fight.

**Magnolia: **Let’s take care of things! Blue Lions, unite!

_The battle begins. The battlefield is a somewhat open field with a few trees dotting the area. There are five small groups of enemy units moving closer with each passing turn. Reinforcements come in every once in a while, putting You on the defensive. Even if your party does not have the freedom of lashing out as aggressors, the Blue Lions hold their own. You muse on their growth throughout the year but say nothing of it out loud._

_If You initiate combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Zane: **I’ve heard quite a bit about you from the commanders… One of them knows you all too well. I wouldn’t be surprised if we fought on the same side one day, but until then, we are enemies, and I will have to try to kill you. Farewell!

_If Magnolia initiates combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **Why are you in the Empire?

**Zane: **It should be clear… Big changes are coming not only to Adrestia, but to the whole continent.

**Magnolia: **You seem to be planning a widespread rebellion.

**Zane: **Perhaps…

**Magnolia: **Bold move. We can easily contact the emperor of Adrestia and tell him of this.

**Zane: **That pathetic windbag doesn’t have a chance of finding us. He’s too much of a fool to see us.

**Magnolia: **Don’t get too confident.

**Zane: **I could say the same to you. Now, let’s end this once and for all!

_If Falon initiates combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Falon:** You must be confident for coming right into the Empire’s territory.

**Zane: **Perhaps… You have quite the courage, coming to confront me directly.

**Falon: **If I’m to stop you, I have to confront you.

**Zane: **Obligation… Is that why you’re fighting? Pathetic.

**Falon: **My motive is none of your concern.

**Zane: **Keep telling yourself that… Let’s just end this.

**Falon:** If you wish to.

_If Illona initiates combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Zane: **I’ve heard about you… Someone among our ranks knows you.

**Illona: **Wait… What?

**Zane: **Pale hair… Brigid heritage… And most importantly, something she shouldn’t have.

**Illona:** What are you talking about?

**Zane: **You’ll understand soon enough.

**Illona: **I… It’s time to finish things!

**Zane: **If you insist…

_If Nesreen initiates combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Nesreen: **You came to the Empire because you wanted something. You still want something.

**Zane: **And?

**Nesreen: **You want to start a rebellion. You’re working with Bazler. He wanted civil war, and so do you.

**Zane: **Civil war? That isn’t my aim… Mine is far greater… And it starts with ripping the Crest of Seiros from this damned country.

**Nesreen: **You don’t like the church then… The connection of the Faixnoye family to the church brings you here.

**Zane: **So, you aren’t as dumb as I thought… Impressive. Too bad you won’t be able to tell a soul.

_If Yuliya initiates combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Zane: **Albinean… How intriguing.

**Yuliya: **What of it?

**Zane: **Why are you fighting with the same people who destroyed your home?

**Yuliya: **…

**Zane: **There are others out there… Others who would be ashamed of you.

**Yuliya: **That’s none of your business…

**Zane: **If you need somewhere to stay… Know that Malice is ready to accept you.

**Yuliya: **...I think not. Goodbye.

_If anyone else initiates combat with Zane, this dialogue plays out._

**Zane: **It’s time that we rid this world of the dreaded Crest of Seiros… And let the church fall with it!

_When Zane is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Zane: **I am… But a piece of Malice… You can remove me… But the rest continues to pursue destruction… You have won… Nothing…

_After the battle, You stand at the center of the field with your students. You look at Zane’s body. Something appears to be sticking out of his jacket. Seraphine appears next to you._

**Seraphine: **Is that… A piece of paper?

_You grab the page and start to look at it. The surface is grimy and slick. You hold it up near your face to read it. Magnolia looks over your shoulder. The other students gather around You, but they are far from being close to the page._

**Magnlia: **He was out to defeat the Church of Seiros.

**Falon: **They were going to do so by cutting through Empire territory.

**Aestlyn: **What else is written on it?

**Nora: **They’re going to strike elsewhere soon.

**Cassia: **It seems to be a minor Faerghus church.

**Illona: **Why go after a smaller church?

**Nesreen: **It would send a message to the larger church.

**Yuliya: **It’s a threat.

**Kaeta: **What are they thinking by pulling something like this?

**Reese: **They must think it will help them.

**Kyle: **I don’t know why that would be…

**Karim: **I don’t know if we’re supposed to know.

**Magnolia: **Lady Aisa needs to hear of this as soon as possible.

**Aestlyn: **Professor? Are you okay?

**Kyle: **You don’t look too good…

**Nesreen: **Do you need to lay down?

**Kaeta: **Wait… The paper is covered with something…

**Nora: **That smell is disgusting…

**Reese: **Jill told me about a type of poison like this… Back away from the paper.

_You drop the page but start to cough soon after._

**Karim: **Professor, can you hear us?

**Yuliya: **My guess is that it’s something that grows vicious when inhaled.

**Illona: **The professor was close enough to be affected…

**Cassia: **Professor, focus on us… You’re going to be okay.

**Falon: **Professor? Professor!

_Your legs give out from beneath You, and You are unconscious before your face even hits the ground._

_While You are asleep, You see the open field You had just fought the battle in. You are much younger now as well, having shrunk significantly. You see Evenor standing before You. Seraphine is nowhere to be seen._

**Evenor: **Here we are…

_You ask Evenor if You are ever to return to Enbarr, the capital of Adrestia._

**Evenor: **Enbarr? Never. We aren’t going to be returning there ever again. We’re moving around from here on out.

_You question as to if You will ever see your mother again._

**Evenor: **I… I am afraid she can no longer care for you. I will be the one looking after you from here on out. Your name will need to change as well. We don’t want anyone to come looking for you.

_You nod slowly._

**Evenor: **Hmph… The damn child who ruined our lives is called Rhian. She’s dead to the public while you are appearing for the first time… If she took your name, we’ll just have to steal hers, or at least one like hers… From this day forth, you are Rion.

_You nod again._

**Evenor: **If anyone ever calls to you using your birth name, ignore them. That version of you is dead. Rion is rising. Do you understand?

_You say yes._

**Evenor: **I am glad to hear it… I’m going to buy us a room in the nearby inn. After that, we move towards Leicester. We cannot stay in one place for too long. Come.

_You follow Evenor as she walks toward the nearby town. You stop upon hearing a baby crying. You glance around, not sure of where the sound is coming from. You see a small child manifest seemingly from nowhere nearby. It appears to be a baby who is no more than a few days old. Her hair can barely be seen, but it is tinted with green. The child is wrapped in a white blanket. An unknown voice speaks to You as You attempt to pick her up, though You find that she cannot be touched._

**???: **How strange… A secondary version of me, but not one to be expected… I shall call you… Seraphine. Yes. Seraphine. Watch her well, Crescent.

_The vision fades away as the baby Seraphine disappears enough nothingness. You see blackness all around You, unsure of if You are alive or dead…_

_The vision ends when You open your eyes._

_  
_**Magnolia: **Professor? Are you alright?

**Nora: **You worried us half to death.

**Kyle: **What happened to you?

**Reese: **There are types of poison that hurt people when breathed in. Since the professor was closest, it was risky… My assumption is too much was inhaled.

**Nesreen: **Even in death, he still insisted on messing with us.

**Kaeta: **What a little punk…

**Falon: **We may need to be cautious about inhaling the poison, but we still need to get this message to Lady Aisa. Maybe we can copy it over to another page.

**Aestlyn: **I’m happy I brought some parchment along on a whim.

**Illona: **I don’t know what we would do without you.

**Cassia: **Be sure not to breathe in a lot of the poison.

**Yuliya: **Always trying to hold us back, it seems…

**Karim: **Professor, can you stand?

_You rise to your feet. After stumbling briefly, You steady._

**Magnolia: **I’m relieved you’re okay.

**Falon: **Let’s get back to the monastery now.

**Illona: **The professor needs to rest.

**Nora: **I don’t want to get in trouble again either.

**Cassia: **Our mission is over, so why stay?

**Aestlyn: **The note has been copied.

**Nesreen: **I’ll be sure to deliver it to Lady Aisa when we return.

**Kaeta: **Is everyone ready?

**Yuliya: **Let’s get out of here… I’m sick of this place.

**Karim: **Be careful, Professor.

**Kyle:** Don’t push yourself too far.

**Reese:** If you need help, feel free to speak up.

_You nod and start to follow the others in your party. Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **That was another memory… You seemed so young. You were about as tall as I am. I was a baby… Who was that voice? Why did it call you Crescent?

_You suggest that perhaps that was the birth name Evenor told You not to speak of._

**Seraphine: **It’s finally a clue to figure out who we are! Crescent… A person who went missing when you were about my size. I would say that was about ten years ago. I like that we finally have something to use in finding the truth.

_You ask if she thinks You should bring this up to anyone._

**Seraphine: **I… I don’t know yet. Keep it secret for the time being. If we think it would be best to tell others about, we can do that later. For now, I would rather be safe than sorry.

_You nod._

**Seraphine: **I’m so happy we have something else… I don’t know exactly what it all meant, but it’s still a start, and that’s what I care about.

_You nod once again as Seraphine disappears. You cannot stop repeating the memory in the back of your mind over and over, but You still do not know what it could all mean. A million questions are stirring beneath the surface, but You do not know how to word any of them, so they are all left unspoken._

_When You arrive back at the monastery, You head to the audience chamber to see Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor. I take it your mission was a success.

**Roy: **I can tell you have something else to tell us though. What’s on your mind?

_You say that a letter was found on the commander’s body talking about an attack on a minor Faerghus church that is to take place in the next month._

**Roy: **I see…

**Aisa: **I do not know which church in particular they could be discussing, but I will find out.

**Roy: **We won’t let them get away with this. They have done enough harm as it is.

**Aisa: **What about the forces you had to fight? Was there anything odd about them?

_You explain that the fifth faction of Malice has a grudge against the church._

**Aisa: **I feared that would be the case.

**Roy: **I wonder why they would hate the church…

**Aisa: **The attack on a smaller church seems to be sending a message to us though.

**Roy: **It’s as if they mean that we’re next…

**Aisa: **Do you have the paper with this message on it, Professor?

_You explain that Nesreen is planning to bring it by later on._

**Roy: **I’m glad to hear it. The more evidence we have to go off, the better.

**Aisa: **You look exhausted, Professor… Are you alright?

_You nod, not wanting to explain your memory._

**Roy: **If you insist… Try not to push yourself too hard.

**Aisa: **Yes. Please, return to your room and get some rest.

**Roy: **We’ll send for you if we need you again.

**Aisa: **Feel free to ask for help. We are happy to support you.

**Roy: **I feel the same as Lady Aisa. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance.

**Aisa: **Until we meet again… Have a nice evening.

**Roy: **Goodnight, Professor.

_You nod to them both and leave the audience chamber. Seraphine appears next to You._

**Seraphine: **I never thought I would say that I’m happy to have passed out, and yet, here we are… We can’t go to our room just yet though. We have to go and see the kids one more time. After that, we’re free to start theorizing about what all that meant.

_You yawn._

**Seraphine: **Well… That can wait until after you’ve slept for a while. I guess that letter took more out of you than we thought… I feel like bouncing off the walls, but I’m not exactly physical, so I suppose it makes sense we would be impacted differently.

_You start to head towards the classroom._

**Seraphine: **Let’s try and take care of this quickly, okay?

_You nod as You push the door to the Blue Lions homeroom open. Seraphine vanishes once again._

**Reese: **With that, the month is over.

**Nesreen: **Even if we didn’t expand much upon what we knew, we learned two important things.

**Yuliya: **First, the fifth group of Malice is out to destroy the Church of Seiros.

**Kaeta: **Second, their next target is a minor church in Faerghus.

**Nora: **That’s likely our mission next month.

**Kyle: **It’s odd… Did they want us to find the note?

**Aestlyn: **If it was planted, they’re hoping we’ll go into the trap.

**Illona: **They’re planning an ambush.

**Cassia: **Preparation means prevention though.

**Karim: **Yeah. We’ll have to be careful.

**Falon: **Please do your best to stay safe. I don’t want anybody to get hurt before the next mission, because it’s going to be big.

**Magnolia: **I agree with that completely. Stay safe.

**Reese: **Death is too sad for people so young.

**Aestlyn: **Aw… You care.

**Nesreen: **Let’s wrap this up quickly. I need to deliver the letter to Lady Aisa.

**Kaeta: **What do you think she’ll do about it?

**Yuliya: **Send us to fight them off, obviously.

**Cassia: **I can’t think of what else she could do.

**Nora: **So long as it doesn’t end horribly violently, we’ll be fine.

**Illona: **Goddess, please help us get out of this alive.

**Kyle:** I’m sure we’ll be okay.

**Karim: **We will be. I’m positive.

**Magnolia: **We should rest for now though. We don’t want to overextend.

**Falon: **Exactly. Preparation is key.

**Reese: **I’m looking forward to hitting the hay…

**Magnolia: **We need to be ready to keep training.

**Aestlyn: **That’s true… Goodnight.

**Nesreen: **Don’t die.

**Kaeta: **It’s time to start getting ready to beat them up.

**Yuliya: **You are way too excited about this.

**Nora: **I’m ready to crash… See you later.

**Cassia: **Do your best to stay safe.

**Kyle: **I’m going to rest as well.

**Illona: **Goodnight…

**Karim: **I’ll see you all around.

**Falon: **Have a nice night, Professor. Feel better soon!

_The students all leave the classroom. You start to walk to your room as Seraphine manifests._

**Seraphine: **Next month… Next month, we’re going to find out more about Malice. I’m sure of it. When we aren’t on the battlefield, we’re going to find out more about you… Crescent… What an odd name.

_You nod as You sit on your bed._

**Seraphine: **I have a million questions, but… I’m at least glad we have a lead. Crescent… We don’t even have surname, but funny enough, I don’t mind. For now, this is enough… But I can tell you’re exhausted. I won’t keep you awake with my endless prattling. Have a nice rest, Professor… Crescent…

_You lay down and fall asleep quickly. In the night, the same dream of your newly recovered memory loops over and over. You learn nothing from the repeated cycles, but You find yourself more determined than ever to figure out the truth. Seraphine’s enthusiasm has proven itself to be fiercely contagious. However, answers still lie out of reach, meaning You will have to work if You wish to find out who You are and who You were. The name Crescent rings endlessly in your head, and You wish You could find the one who named You as such in the first place… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's the end of chapter eight!
> 
> This marks the two-thirds point as far as chapters go. After this, we have chapter nine (9 parts), chapter ten (6 parts), chapter eleven (7 parts), and chapter twelve (7 parts). We're getting so close!
> 
> Right now, the plan is to finish up part one, finish all C supports, do paralogues, finish all B supports unlocked before time skip, do Cindered Shadows, and do Cindered Shadows paralogues. After that, we'll jump right into part two! 
> 
> Until next time, I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> -Digital


	53. Chapter Nine: Divine Salvation I (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You plan to rescue a minor church in Faerghus.

_At the start of the Ethereal Moon, You wake up as Seraphine manifests._

**Seraphine: **We’re probably going to be helping out that minor church this month… I can’t imagine we would be doing anything else.

_You nod your agreement and start to head upstairs to meet Aisa and Roy. Upon your arrival, they address You quickly._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor.

**Roy: **I take it you already know what your mission will be?

_You nod and suggest the minor church from Faerghus._

**Aisa: **That assumption is correct. You will take one class to aid them in staving off the invasion from Malice.

**Roy: **However, this month has more in store than the simple mission.

**Aisa: **This is the month of the White Heron Cup, an annual dance competition among the houses. If you wish to compete, ask a student from your chosen house to go forth. Each house will select one person.

**Roy: **In most cases, the charming people will succeed, so keep that in mind.

_You nod._

**Aisa: **Soon after the White Heron Cup, there will be a festival here at the monastery… This year, the monastery turns 995 years old. This festival will celebrate that. We hold one each year.

**Roy: **Garreg Mach’s history of nearly a thousand years is celebrated on this night. All students of the Officers Academy are invited to attend.

**Aisa: **As a teacher, you will be helping to chaperone the event.

**Roy: **Make sure your little treasures stay out of trouble.

_You nod once again._

**Aisa: **Until then, there is something much more important to discuss…

**Roy: **I agree. Who will you be going with this month to eliminate Malice?

_You think for a moment before deciding to follow the Black Eagles._

**Aisa: **The Black Eagles are your choice?

_You confirm your decision._

**Roy: **I’m glad to hear it.

**Aisa: **You should head to see your students then. I’m sure they are waiting for you.

**Roy: **Have a nice day, Professor.

_You thank them before heading away from the room to move for the Officers Academy. Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **A ball? A dance competition? Shouldn’t we be focusing on more important things like the mission at hand?

_You shrug neutrally._

**Seraphine: **If the church wants to be like this, then I suppose that’s a decision out of our control. The least we can do is attempt to have a nice time. How does that sound?

_You nod your agreement as You arrive in the Black Eagles homeroom._

**Herwig: **Hello, Professor.

**Polly: **It’s nice to see you.

**Aquillus: **You know what the mission is, right? Go on and explain it.

_You tell them about the minor church._

**Tuncay: **Sounds easy enough.

**Zelhira: **We shouldn’t let ourselves get too confident though. That would be a recipe for disaster.

**Florence: **Disaster or not, we can handle it.

**Callisto: **I just want to know why Malice is going after a smaller church after aiming high for so long.

**Hegias: **Remember what was revealed last month… This is a threat to the Church of Seiros.

**Chris: **And it seems they are planning on following through with that threat no matter what…

**Herwig: **Regardless of what they want to do, they will not be getting away with it.

**Florence: **Those people are counting on us to rescue them no matter what.

**Aquillus: **Do we know anything about this church?

**Polly: **It’s a smaller location set near Fhirdiad, but it doesn’t see much attention at all.

**Callisto: **I heard it’s mostly used for minor worship.

**Zelhira: **In other words, they’ll be easily overwhelmed if we don’t do something.

**Tuncay: **What kind of people are in the surrounding area?

**Hegias: **Mostly priests and priestesses looking for a place to share their devotion to the goddess without coming all the way to Garreg Mach.

**Chris: **I wonder who we’ll meet there…

**Herwig: **Regardless of who we cross paths with, we have a lot to do before then.

**Zelhira: **That’s right. The ball is coming up.

**Tuncay: **I don’t see the point of halting our training to focus on a damn ball.

**Aquillus: **A lot of people don’t want to break tradition.

**Polly: **Think of it as a chance to relax after all the important work we’ve been doing lately.

**Florence: **I hope I meet someone cute on the dancefloor… I’m sure a lot of sweethearts come to Garreg Mach.

**Callisto: **This is going to be the perfect chance to show off my performing skills.

**Hegias: **I’ll be content to just see everyone else happy.

**Chris: **I hope nothing goes wrong…

**Herwig: **We have everything under control. Don’t worry yourselves too much.

**Hegias: **Is there anything we’ll need to do to help prepare?

**Polly: **I assume we’ll need to assist with setting up the reception hall, but aside from that…

**Callisto: **And then there’s the White Heron Cup! I’m so excited for that!

**Florence: **There’s a lot to look forward to this month…

**Tuncay: **But we won’t get to any of it sooner by just standing around.

**Aquillus: **I have some extra work to do before all of that anyways.

**Zelhira: **Perhaps we should part ways for the day then.

**Chris: **Sounds good to me…

**Herwig: **Class dismissed.

_The students all leave the classroom to explore the monastery. Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **Somehow, I get the feeling this minor church has more to it than meets the eye… I don’t know how to describe it. However, I don’t think we should worry about that right now. I want to focus on finding out more about ‘Crescent’ from last month… Who could have named you that? Who stole away that life from you? Who in the world is Rhian? Here’s to hoping the goddess has the answers.

_You nod about how You hope to find the truth as well. You begin to walk around the monastery as well. In the courtyard of the Officers Academy, You encounter Zelhira standing with Aquillus outside the classrooms._

**Zelhira: **I have a bad feeling about all this.

**Aquillus: **As much as I appreciate the upholding of tradition involved with the ball, I must wonder if this is a good idea.

**Zelhira: **Something could happen while we’re distracted with doing other things… I want to remain optimistic, but I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.

**Aquillus: **We’ll just need to remain alert.

**Zelhira: **I wish we could do more.

**Aquillus: **You aren’t the only one…

_In the training hall, You encounter Nora standing with Falon._

**Nora: **What do you think of the ball happening this month?

**Falon: **I’m really excited! I loved going to festivals when I was growing up, and I doubt this will be any different.

**Nora: **I hear there are some romantic implications about this party… Some say that dancing with someone at the ball can lead to lifelong relations.

**Falon: **I guess I’ll have to dance with all my friends then! I want to be around them forever.

**Nora: **That’s not what I… Never mind.

_Also in the training hall, You see Miriam and Derric together._

**Derric: **I can’t believe we’re going to be chaperoning the ball in such a short amount of time… Where did the year go?

**Miriam: **Are you actually excited about this?

**Derric: **Why wouldn’t I be? I can’t wait to see everyone get dressed up to have a good time!

**Miriam: **Yeah… Sure. Sounds like a blast.

**Derric: **Are you not excited for it?

**Miriam: **It doesn’t matter. Let’s move on.

_You leave the training hall and head to the first row of dorms. You look down the row and see Wolfgang standing with William._

**Wolfgang: **I’ve never been to one of these big parties before… What do I do?

**William: **I can’t say I’m exactly used to it either, but I’m sure we’ll get the hang of it soon enough.

**Wolfgang: **You sure do seem positive…

**William: **You won’t get anywhere in life if you’re negative about everything.

**Wolfgang: **I suppose you make a strong argument…

**William: **I’m sure you’ll have fun. Don’t worry a bit.

**Wolfgang: **If you insist…

_You head to the second floor of dorms, and You encounter Callisto, Kyle, and Adeline standing together._

**Callisto: **It’s finally time for the White Heron Cup!

**Kyle: **I hope I win it… Let’s just say you ladies will have some competition.

**Adeline: **I just want to have fun anyways…

**Kyle: **It’s okay to be competitive every once in a while.

**Callisto: **I know. Which is exactly what I’m going to say when you cry after I beat you.

**Adeline: **Goddess above…

**Kyle: **You think you’ll succeed?

**Callisto: **Think? I know it!

**Adeline: **Professor, save my soul…

_You head back downstairs and see Herwig standing alone in the greenhouse. You approach him._

**Herwig: **You know, my younger sister, Erika, lives at the minor church we’ll be saving this month… I’m incredibly worried about her. I don’t know what I would do if she got hurt… We’ll just have to make sure everything is alright in the end.

_You tell him You are confident it will end well._

**Herwig: **If you’re sure…

_At the fishing hole, You see Illona standing with Sofia._

**Sofia: **Do you have anyone to dance with at the ball, Lonnie?

**Illona: **Um… My boyfriend.

**Sofia: **Boyfriend. Seriously?

**Illona: **Yeah… Long, beautiful orange hair.

**Sofia: **Wow… I always knew your lying skills could use some improvement, but this is a new low.

**Illona: **What is that supposed to mean? He’s real!

**Sofia: **Sure… Would you be willing to save a dance for me regardless?

**Illona: **I’ll have to see how the night goes…

**Sofia: **I’m going to consider that a win!

_You head up towards the dining hall. Once there, You encounter Florence and Polly, who are standing together._

**Florence: **Imagine the party now… I’m sure it will be amazing! I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend my time.

**Polly: **You sure are excited about this.

**Florence: **I’ve never gotten the chance to go to a fancy party like this. I might as well take advantage of it.

**Polly: **Yeah… Alright. Sure.

**Florence: **Why so glum, Pol?

**Polly: **These parties really aren’t all they’re cracked up to be… I have a feeling this is going to end in disaster.

**Florence: **Loosen up! It’ll be fine!

**Polly: **If you insist…

_You leave the dining hall to move to the stables. Once there, You see Lev and Karim together._

**Lev: **I’m a bit concerned about this party, to be perfectly honest…

**Karim: **Why so? It’s not really that much to be worked up about.

**Lev: **I’ve never liked big social gatherings like this.

**Karim: **If you try relaxing, you’ll have a good time. It’s chaotic, yes, but it’s when everyone shows their most authentic selves.

**Lev: **Most authentic selves…

**Karim: **Did I say something wrong?

**Lev: **No… Not at all. Forget it.

_You head towards the knights’ hall next, and once inside, You observe Cordelia standing with Rodain._

**Cordelia: **As the ball rolls around, our busiest night of the year approaches.

**Rodain: **We’re certainly going to have our work cut out for us this time around…

**Cordelia: **We’ve been able to handle it before. I have faith we’ll be alright.

**Rodain: **The students are counting on us to keep them safe… It’ll be fine.

**Cordelia: **That’s the spirit!

_After finishing your business in the knights’ hall, You head to the entrance hall. Inside, You see Yuliya and Piers speaking to each other._

**Yuliya: **I’m not looking forward to being on guard duty.

**Piers: **Honestly, me neither. I’ve been doing it as long as I’ve been at the monastery, and it never gets any better.

**Yuliya: **If you ask me, there are too many people and too little space.

**Piers: **Understandable… It’s not fun to be surrounded by.

**Yuliya: **Good to know I’m not alone in that boat.

_You move to another pair standing in the entrance hall, though this time, they are Nesreen and Adrian._

**Nesreen: **In the past, I haven’t been around for the party… I always find some reason to miss out on it.

**Adrian: **Why is that?

**Nesreen: **It’s bound to be too crazy for me.

**Adrian: **I’d be happy to help you through it if you would accept me. Does that sound alright?

**Nesreen: **If you’re so insistent…

**Adrian: **It would be my honor.

_You head to the reception hall. You see Magnolia and Aestlyn chatting excitedly inside._

**Aestlyn: **I’ve been to countless parties before now, but none were ever here at the monastery… I can’t believe the day has finally come.

**Magnolia: **It’s going to be amazing! I want to see what our classmates can do when it comes to dancing.

**Aestlyn: **I hope at least someone saves a dance for me…

**Magnolia: **Well, even if nobody else does, I will!

**Aestlyn: **You’re far too kind…

_Nearby, You observe Cassia and Kaeta speaking to one another and approach them._

**Cassia: **Kaeta, what will you be doing the night of the ball?

**Kaeta: **Probably patrolling the area. That’s what most knights do.

**Cassia: **I see…

**Kaeta: **Why so interested?

**Cassia: **I’m not sure if I want to spend a lot of time inside the chaos of the festival.

**Kaeta: **I understand that. Well, if you need a place to decompress, I’m always free to help you out.

**Cassia: **Thank you…

**Kaeta: **No problem.

_You move towards the cathedral, and inside, You see Hegias and Tuncay standing together._

**Hegias: **I wonder how the White Heron Cup will go…

**Tuncay: **Are you interested in dancing?

**Hegias: **M-Me? Oh, no way… I’m praying nobody selects me to compete.

**Tuncay: **I feel the same… I don’t normally pray to the goddess, but I ask now that she ensures nobody looks at us a second time for the party.

**Hegias: **You can count me in on that…

_You head upstairs, and once there, You see Cedric speaking with Jill in the hallway._

**Cedric: **Attacking a minor church in Faerghus… Malice must have a reason for targeting this specific location.

**Jill: **I feel the same. Unfortunately, we don’t have any methods of figuring out what that motive could be.

**Cedric: **If only we did…

**Jill: **We’ll simply have to find out on our own when the time comes. Until then, we should be preparing for the ball.

**Cedric: **I have been to many parties like that, but… Something about them never gets old.

**Jill: **I wish you could share some of that enthusiasm with me.

_You move to the library, and inside, You see Niko and Reese speaking together._

**Reese: **With all that’s been happening as of late, I feel as if I haven’t had the chance to sleep enough…

**Niko: **Well, the library is one of the quietest places in the monastery. What if you joined me in here for a brief nap?

**Reese: **Goddess above, that sounds like heaven…

**Niko: **Pick a table… I’ll be joining you momentarily.

_In the hallway near the library, You encounter Wynne, who is standing alone._

**Wynne: **So much awaits us in the future… I can’t help but wonder what is out there. Malice is clearly planning something, but I want answers. Then again, a ball… Answers… They’re equally valued by the universe.

_In the commons room, You see Raithius and Novalee together._

**Raithius: **I started keeping notes of everything that has happened as of late for future reference…

**Novalee: **Do you think you’ll wind up needing it?

**Raithius: **I sure hope not. However, there’s something deep inside me that is saying I’ll have no choice but to keep it all in mind.

**Novalee: **I pray Malice is quelled before you take the throne, but I have a bad feeling that won’t be the case… Whatever happens, I’ll remain at your side.

**Raithius: **Thanks, Nova.

**Novalee: **It is my pleasure.

_At the edge of a hallway, You see Chris standing by herself._

**Chris: **This party is a sign of a million things at once… A thousand years have nearly passed since the construction of the monastery. It’s my first party away from the palace where the emperor can’t control my life. The school year is almost over. And yet… Even with all this, still more lurks in the shadows… At the very least, I can be relieved my father isn’t here. Aside from that, the future is uncertain.

_You assure her everything will be fine._

**Chris: **If you’re so sure.

_In the audience chamber, You see Aisa and Roy side by side._

**Aisa: **The White Heron Cup will be taking place two nights before the ball. You have until then to select a student representative.

**Roy: **I have a feeling you’ll pick whoever is right for your house. The other professors will take care of the other houses.

**Aisa: **I hope you have a nice time at the ball… It’s not something you’ll soon forget.

**Roy: **I must wonder if you have attended a party of this nature in the past… Hm. I suppose we’ll never know.

_After You have finished looking around the monastery, Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Well, I’m tired… Perhaps it’s time for us to get to sleep.

_You nod your agreement and start to head for your dorm. Seraphine walks beside You._

**Seraphine: **So much is happening… The festival will hopefully be fun, but it can’t distract us from the mission at hand. I won’t let that happen, and you had better not either.

_You nod once again._

**Seraphine: **Until then, I’m going to rest… We’ve been up and running around for too long today. Have a nice night, Professor.

_You go to sleep soon after Seraphine disappears. You wonder what the next month will hold. Thoughts of the White Heron Cup, festival, and mission ring in your head, but You are not sure which one to focus on first. No matter what, You get the feeling this month will be full of surprises… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this ultra fast oh my
> 
> -Digital


	54. Chapter Nine: Divine Salvation II (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night of the ball arrives.

_You begin to think about who You might invite to attend the White Heron Cup. You decide to approach one of the Black Eagles to ask, and You find Chris first._

**Chris: **Professor, are you looking for someone to compete in the White Heron Cup? I hope you find the right person for the job.

_If You ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **M-Me…? Well… If you insist… Sorry in advance for how poorly this goes.

_If You do not ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **Thank the goddess… I don’t think I would do well. I would never have the confidence to pull that off.

_You find Polly next._

**Polly: **I heard you were trying to find someone for the White Heron Cup. Do you have anyone else in mind?

_If You ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Polly: **If you think this is best, I’ll follow your guidance.

_If You do not ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Polly: **I trust your judgement in this case. I’m always available to take it up if you change your mind.

_You find Florence next._

**Florence: **You’re trying to get someone to compete in the White Heron Cup, aren’t you? What’s your plan as of now?

_If You ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Florence:** I’ll do my best! I can’t assure success, but I’ll still try!

_If You do not ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Florence: **Good choice. I wouldn’t say I’m the best dancer. Good luck finding someone!

_You find Zelhira next._

**Zelhira: **How is your search for a White Heron Cup competitor going?

_If You ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Zelhira: **Alright. I’ll take your word for me being good.

_If You do not ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Zelhira: **It’s up to you. Have a nice day looking, Professor.

_You find Hegias next._

**Hegias: **How is the search for a White Heron Cup competitor going? I hope you’ve found success.

_If You ask him to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Hegias: **You want me? I’m honored! I’m in!

_If You do not ask him to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Hegias: **Alright then. I know you’ll make the right choice.

_You find Callisto next._

**Callisto: **Now, about the White Heron Cup… Let me in! Please! I want to be our class representative!

_If You ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Callisto: **Thank you so much! I won’t let you down!

_If You do not ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Callisto: **Fine then… See if you can find somebody better. I dare you.

_You find Tuncay next._

**Tuncay: **Well… The White Heron Cup is coming up. Who are you planning on picking?

_If You ask them to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Tuncay: **Wait… Really? Alright… If you insist… Your funeral if something goes wrong.

_If You do not ask them to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Tuncay: **Go ask Pogy or Callus. I’m sure they’d bring you some form of success.

_You find Aquillus next._

**Aquillus: **How’s your search for the White Heron Cup going? Have you chosen a representative?

_If You ask him to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Aquillus: **Me? Well, I didn’t expect that… If you insist.

_If You do not ask him to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Aquillus: **Understood. Good luck in finding someone.

_After selecting your representative, You will have the chance to practice dancing with them. If You choose to practice, the participant’s charm will rise by five points afterwards._

_If Chris is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **Well… I guess we should start practicing so I don’t make a total fool of myself.

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Chris: **I at least feel a little better… I’m still not sure about this…

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **You have that much faith in me? You really shouldn’t.

_If Polly is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Polly: **It wouldn’t be a bad idea to practice, now that I think of it…

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Polly: **That was incredibly productive.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Polly: **If you think I can do this, alright. I’ll trust you.

_If Florence is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Florence: **We should prepare for this, right? How does practice sound?

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Florence: **That was fun! Even if I don’t win, I’m going to enjoy myself more now.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Florence: **Alright. Whatever you say.

_If Zelhira is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Zelhira: **Practice might not be an awful idea here…

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Zelhira: **That was nice… Thank you, Professor.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Zelhira: **If you’re sure…

_If Hegias is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Hegias: **Should we practice before the competition?

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Hegias: **Thank you for your help, Professor.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Hegias: **If you think that would be best, alright.

_If Callisto is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Callisto:** Now, I have some practicing to do. Want to come watch?

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Callisto: **Thanks for coming, Professor! I’m totally going to win this.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Callisto: **Your loss. I’m going to win no matter what.

_If Tuncay is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Tuncay: **It wouldn’t hurt to practice… I don’t want to look like a complete idiot, after all.

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Tuncay: **Thanks for that… It won’t go as horribly wrong now.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Tuncay: **Whatever you say. I have some weapons to build now anyways.

_If Aquillus is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Aquillus: **Practicing would better our chances… Would you like to rehearse?

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Aquillus: **I’d consider that successful.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Aquillus: **Whatever you say is best…

_The night of the White Heron Cup arrives. You go to the reception hall to watch._

**Roy: **Greetings, everyone! Welcome to the White Heron Cup! The annual dance competition has arrived once more. Three judges will watch the performers. I will be the first. Second, we have the one and only… Derric! Third and finally, Adrian will watch everyone! We will judge everyone impartially and fairly. With that said, send your representatives forward!

_The three contestants step forward._

**Roy: **And… Begin!

_The contestants begin to dance._

**Roy: **That’s all! It’s time for the judges to say what they think! Derric, you go first!

_If the Black Eagles competitor has the highest charm, Derric will say the following._

**Derric: **My vote goes to the Black Eagles. I loved watching your performance.

_If the Blue Lions competitor has the highest charm, Derric will say the following._

**Derric: **My vote goes to the Blue Lions. You did amazing out there.

_If the Golden Deer competitor has the highest charm, Derric will say the following._

**Derric: **My vote goes to the Golden Deer. Incredible job!

_If the Black Eagles competitor has the highest charm, Adrian will say the following._

**Adrian: **I vote for the Black Eagles. I’m amazed for sure.

_If the Blue Lions competitor has the highest charm, Adrian will say the following._

**Adrian: **I vote for the Blue Lions. I loved everything about that show.

_If the Golden Deer competitor has the highest charm, Adrian will say the following._

**Adrian: **I vote for the Golden Deer. I’m still in awe.

_If the Black Eagles competitor has the highest charm, Roy will say the following._

**Roy: **Factoring in my opinion, our winner is… The Black Eagles!

_If the Blue Lions competitor has the highest charm, Roy will say the following._

**Roy: **Factoring in my opinion, our winner is… The Blue Lions!

_If the Golden Deer competitor has the highest charm, Roy will say the following._

**Roy: **Factoring in my opinion, our winner is… The Golden Deer!

_The student who won will say their line below while all others remain silent. Note that if the player chose Callisto, Kyle, or Adeline, their victory is guaranteed no matter what. If none of them are entered by the player, the victory is dependent on who has the highest charm. Their victory is not guaranteed if they are rivals for the competition. After time skip, regardless of who wins, Callisto, Kyle, and Adeline will return in the dancer class by default._

**Chris: **Wait… I won? What were they thinking?!

**Polly: **I’m glad this went well.

**Florence: **Maybe I’m not as bad as I thought!

**Zelhira: **I’m relieved you enjoyed my performance.

**Hegias: **I hope I made everyone proud.

**Callisto: **Of course I won! How could I fail?

**Tuncay: **Wow… I can’t believe that just happened.

**Aquillus: **It went much more favorably than I anticipated.

**Magnolia: **Thank the goddess I succeeded.

**Aestlyn: **I… I did it! Wow!

**Nora: **Color me surprised… Doesn’t mean I’m upset.

**Illona: **And here I thought I was lying when I said I could dance…

**Kyle: **I won’t be letting this chance to improve pass me up.

**Karim: **Not everything goes as planned… Not that I’m objecting.

**Cassia: **Perhaps I did retain some knowledge on dancing over the years…

**Falon: **That… That did not go as planned.

**Raithius: **That was for you, Golden Deer!

**Sofia: **The girls are going to go crazy for this…

**Wolfgang: **Wow… Who knew I had it in me?

**Cedric: **It was the least I could do.

**Adeline: **Wow… It’s only uphill from here!

**Novalee: **I definitely did not see this one coming…

**William: **I can’t let this new talent go to waste.

**Lev: **I… There must be some mistake…

_After the student speaks, Roy will say the following._

**Roy: **Have a nice night everyone! I hope you all enjoyed!

_The night before the ball, You stand in the Black Eagles classroom with the students._

**Chris: **I can’t believe the party is already tomorrow… This month sure has flown by.

**Callisto: **You won’t catch me complaining! I’m excited as can be!

**Florence: **I’m hoping to find a special someone to share a dance with… Any volunteers?

**Tuncay: **I already know this is going to be a chaotic mess…

**Zelhira: **I’m far from a great dancer… This isn’t going to end well for me.

**Herwig: **Regardless, I’m sure everyone will be fine.

**Hegias: **It’ll be fun… I’m hoping.

**Aquillus: **It’s nothing to stress ourselves out too much over.

**Polly: **Who will you all be attempting to dance with?

**Callisto: **Dance with? Not me! I kick ass going solo.

**Florence: **I’m leaving my options open.

**Aquillus: **I truly don’t see the point of such endeavors.

**Zelhira: **I suppose it’s up to us what we decide to do.

**Hegias: **I won’t judge anyone for what they choose.

**Tuncay: **I’m going to sit this one out. I’ll just step all over my partner’s feet anyways.

**Herwig: **Normally, my classes are much more enthusiastic about this.

**Polly: **I know I’m excited. There are more than a few people I’d like to share a dance with…

**Chris: **Regardless, I… There’s something I want to suggest.

**Herwig: **And what would that be?

**Chris: **We… We should meet up at the monastery five years from now. It’ll be the time of the millennium festival, and I’m sure the party will be grand… A perfect reunion point.

**Polly: **I agree… It would be nice to see everyone again.

**Tuncay: **I should be up for that.

**Florence: **I want to see what happens to you all as well.

**Callisto: **I’m going to come back after making a name for myself.

**Hegias: **I think I heard the other classes discussing something similar.

**Zelhira: **I suppose we might as well all meet up as a large group.

**Aquillus: **It would be nice to see how far everyone has come.

**Tuncay: **What about you, Professor? Will you be up for coming back?

_You nod._

**Polly: **In that case, we can consider this settled.

**Callisto: **I’ll be sure to make everyone proud in the next five years!

**Florence: **Me too! My story is just getting started!

**Zelhira: **You all sure are getting excited for this… We haven’t even had the current ball.

**Aquillus: **No matter what happens, I’ll be here.

**Herwig: **As will I.

**Hegias: **I’ll try to be here as well.

**Chris: **Then… Let’s make it a concrete plan. No matter what, I’ll be here, and I pray you all will come as well.

_You walk out of the classroom as the students do the same. Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine:** Meeting up after five years… That would be nice. Who can say where we will be in that time? Our teaching assistant deal expires at the end of this year, and the students will be off to make their own places in the world… Sounds like the perfect excuse to come together again.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **But now is hardly the time to think of such things. We should head back to our room. We have to rest before the ball tomorrow.

_You head to your room and rest for the night, thinking about what could happen at the ball. You fall asleep soon after with Seraphine doing the same._

_The next day, You attend the ball. You see many students dancing around the reception hall. People chat and drink. You stand near the outside of the room most of the time, watching everything unfurl. A few times, You are asked to dance, and You comply each time. The other teachers and knights watch over the room, enjoying the festivities from a distance. After a while, the chaos begins to get to You, and You walk away from the reception hall._

**Seraphine: **That was getting to be too much for me as well… I need some peace right now.

_You nod and attempt to find somewhere peaceful as You walk around the monastery. Your gaze eventually sets on the Goddess Tower on the far side of the cathedral._

**Seraphine: **The Goddess Tower, huh? I bet that place is empty tonight… Let’s go up there to decompress for a little while… I wonder if anyone will meet you there.

_You think about who You would like to meet You there._

**Seraphine: **No time to waste standing around though. Let’s get going!

_You nod and head towards the Goddess Tower, leaving the dancefloor behind._

_At this time, whoever the player thought about will go to the Goddess Tower. Their conversation will play out here. Afterwards, the script will come together regardless of who was summoned, and it will end the same way no matter what._

_After the ball ends, You return to your room and sleep. You are exhausted after all that took place at the ball. You know more is yet to come, and You slip into slumber, wondering what your mission might entail… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally the Goddess Tower conversations are relevant
> 
> -Digital


	55. Chapter Nine: Divine Salvation III (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Black Eagles set out to save the church, meeting a peculiar woman upon arriving.

_The day of your mission, You wake up, and Seraphine manifests beside You._

**Seraphine: **Well, now that the ball is over with, the time has come… Faerghus awaits us. The people of that church need to be protected from Malice, and we’re just the people to take care of the job.

_You nod and walk to the Black Eagles homeroom. Inside, the students wait with Herwig, Nesreen, Kaeta, and Yuliya._

**Herwig: **The time has come for us to set off.

**Polly: **I wonder what will await us there…

**Aquillus: **Malice going after a small church… I wonder if there’s something they want there.

**Zelhira: **Regardless of if there is something there they want, it’s sending a message loud and clear to the Church of Seiros, which I think is their aim.

**Yuliya: **They’re being ridiculous…

**Florence: **Regardless of what we think, I guess they think they’re in the right. Why else would they do this?

**Callisto: **I don’t know, and I honestly don’t think I want to ask.

**Kaeta: **If they think they can get away with this, they’re sorely mistaken.

**Nesreen: **Lady Aisa is counting on us to defend the followers of Seiros.

**Tuncay: **And we will. It’ll be easy.

**Hegias: **Easy… That’s one way of thinking about it.

**Chris: **I wouldn’t be quite so confident… Regardless, we should get ready to leave.

**Herwig: **The church has stood near Fhirdiad for many years. The inhabitants of the Faerghan capital are counting on us.

**Kaeta: **And we can’t let them down now.

**Polly: **I just hope we know what we’re doing… I have a bad feeling about this.

**Aquillus: **All we can do now is go after them and take care of business.

**Zelhira: **There’s no point in standing around here any longer.

**Florence: **Come on then! We have work to do.

**Callisto: **We’re all rested after the ball, so they had better be ready for this. I know I sure am.

**Nesreen: **Lady Aisa is expecting us to come out victorious.

**Hegias: **Is everyone ready?

**Tuncay: **I know I am.

**Yuliya: **We’re finished waiting around. Let’s get to it.

**Chris: **Who knows what’s waiting for us…? No way to know until we get there.

_The students walk away. Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **I highly doubt it, but I wonder if we’ll find out more about this Crescent person we heard about last month… A girl can dream, I suppose.

_You set out for Faerghus soon after. When You arrive, You stand with the Black Eagles near the church._

**Chris: **Here we are… This is the place.

**Polly: **This is an incredibly small location… You wouldn’t expect it to be so close to Fhirdiad.

**Hegias: **Appearances can be deceiving, I suppose.

**Tuncay: **What are we doing still standing around here?

**Kaeta: **We should head in there and warn the people inside.

**Herwig: **We’re supposed to set up a defensive front outside the building first.

**Aquillus: **Protecting them is our first priority.

**Zelhira: **I agree. We need to ensure they are safe above all else.

**Nesreen: **Should a few of us go inside to warn them while the others get ready?

**Florence: **I nominate Chris and the professor to go inside and talk to them.

**Callisto: **Same here. They’re nice and reliable.

**Yuliya: **Get in there, you two. No time to waste.

_The rest of the students start to prepare for the coming battle, and You are left alone with Chris._

**Chris: **Well, the group has spoken… Come on. We don’t know when the battle is going to start, and I’d like to be ready for when that time comes.

_You nod and head into the church alongside Chris. Once inside, You look around and see pews lining the area. A single woman kneels at the front of the room, praying before a statue of Saint Seiros. She is wearing all white, and her navy hair is covered by a veil. Upon hearing You enter, she rises to her feet and turns to face You._

**Chris: **Um… Excuse me… Sorry to interrupt.

**Janae: **N-No, don’t worry at all… Is something the matter?

**Chris: **I… We were sent by the Church of Seiros to rescue this church. An attack is set to be coming soon from an underground group of fighters.

**Janae: **How horrible… Who might you be?

**Chris: **I-I’m… Well…

_You speak up to introduce yourself and Chris to the woman._

**Janae: **I had no idea I was in the presence of the imperial princess! Please, forgive me…

**Chris: **You don’t need to apologize… I’m not a fan of formalities anyways. What might your name be?

**Janae: **Janae McCreary… I’m a priestess for this church…

**Chris: **It’s an honor to meet you.

**Janae: **And you… I-I feel as if we have met somewhere before…

**Seraphine: **This is it… She might know something about Crescent!

_You ask where You could have met her before._

**Janae: **I… It’s a story for another time…

**Chris: **You can tell us after the battle.

**Janae: **Your surname is Faixnoye… You are related to Hendrix von Faixnoye, yes?

**Chris: **Yes… He is my father.

**Janae: **How old might you be?

**Chris: **I-I’m eighteen as of this past Wyvern Moon.

**Janae: **Impossible…

**Chris: **What do you mean…?

**Janae: **O-Oh, it’s nothing… Have you ever heard of me?

**Chris: **I’m afraid not… Should I have?

**Janae: **I used to… I used to work in the palace of Enbarr. I was a maid there nearly two decades ago.

**Chris: **Wow… I had no idea.

**Janae: **One might call me a consort of the emperor… The story is long, and I do not believe we have the time for it at the moment, but perhaps I can explain the full thing to you one day.

**Chris: **You were in relations with the emperor… Wow…

**Janae: **Relations is one term I would use…

**Seraphine: **Even if she supposedly has a close connection to Chris, she keeps on looking at you weirdly… Why is that?

**Janae: **You know, I never knew you existed. I was there for much of the time in which Emperor Hendrix was fathering children. He had upwards of twenty-five back in the day, but that has since changed. Just before I left, most of them died… If another child appeared while all the previous kids died, I would have been aware.

**Chris: **I… I would have expected to know there were other children there as well, but I was not aware until recently…

**Janae: **How odd…

**Chris: **Um… I-I know you already said you didn’t know I existed, but I have to know… Did you know anything about my mother? Do you know who she could possibly be?

**Janae: **That’s… Well…

_Polly enters the room._

**Polly: **Malice is on the way. They’re almost here.

**Chris: **It’s time to go and take care of things then… Forgive me for not being able to finish our conversation, Ms. McCreary. May we speak again later?

**Janae: **Of course… Good luck.

**Polly: **The others are already prepared.

**Chris: **Understood. Let’s go, Professor.

**Seraphine: **Janae is looking at us again… What has her so interested? I wonder…

_You head outside with Chris and Polly. The Black Eagles are set up around the perimeter of the church._

**Herwig: **Malice is going to try and get into the church.

**Aquillus: **It looks like they’re trying to roll giant snowballs at us.

**Zelhira: **Using the snowy climate to their advantage… Of course.

**Tuncay: **We can’t let them breach the church’s walls.

**Nesreen: **The snowballs are only going to get stronger as they roll down.

**Kaeta: **I wonder if it’s possible to slash a snowball in half with a sword.

**Hegias: **I didn’t think I would ever need to find that out, but here we are.

**Yuliya: **Regardless, we’ll figure it out soon enough.

**Florence: **They won’t be holding back.

**Callisto: **Do you think there’s something in there that they find valuable?

**Polly: **I bet so… They could have attacked any church, and they still chose this one.

**Chris: **We’ll figure it out later on. For now, it’s time to fight!

_The battle begins. Your forces are positioned in a circle around the edge of the church. The battle will be lost if any enemies breach the church’s entrance. You fight with the Black Eagles to keep Malice at bay. You are seeing their improvement already, and You have to admit that You are impressed. The enemy occasionally rolls snowballs down from the higher hills surrounding the church, though they break on impact when hitting one of your fighters. The leader of the enemy troops, Nathan, shows himself soon enough._

_If You initiate combat with Nathan, this dialogue plays out._

**Nathan: **I don’t know who you think you are, but you won’t be getting in our way of finding that sword. Now, step aside before I’m forced to end your life!

_If Chris initiates combat with Nathan, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **I don’t know what it is you want, but I won’t be letting you get away with it.

**Nathan: **If you think you can defeat us, you are sorely mistaken.

**Chris: **That’s pretty big talk, I must say.

**Nathan: **I’m sick of talking. Time to die!

_If anyone else initiates combat with Nathan, this dialogue plays out._

**Nathan: **Get out of my way before I’m forced to strike you down.

_When Nathan is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Nathan: **Damn it… Don’t think this is the last you’ve seen of us…

_After the battle, You stand with the Black Eagles outside the church._

**Herwig: **We managed to fend them off… What a relief.

**Hegias: **We should search the church to see if we can figure out what they wanted.

**Tuncay: **Maybe we should ask the locals if they have any ideas.

**Florence: **If anybody would know, it would be them.

**Nesreen: **Not even I heard about what secrets this place could hold.

**Yuliya: **We have a lot of people to question.

**Callisto: **Off we go then.

**Polly: **I’m relieved no people inside the church were hurt.

**Aquillus: **I don’t know what I would do if they were harmed.

**Zelhira: **We can do one sweep to make sure they’re safe while we’re looking around.

**Kaeta: **Let’s go in then.

**Chris: **I’ll catch up with you a bit later. There’s something I need to do first.

_Chris walks away as Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **She’s going to talk to Janae again… I want to ask her what’s going on as well. Let’s go after her.

_You follow Chris into the main area of the church where Janae is standing._

**Janae: **I’m relieved the goddess granted you both safety.

**Chris: **We can pick up where we left off now. Where were we?

**Janae: **You… You asked me about your mother.

**Chris: **That’s right… Do you know anything?

**Janae: **I’m afraid not… My child was near the middle as far as ages ago. I stopped keeping up with Emperor Hendrix’s affairs soon after they were born.

**Chris: **What happened to them?

**Janae: **They… They were stolen away from me from a young age. Once upon a time, they were declared as the heir to the Faixnoye line, but that changed when they were nine. Soon after, they disappeared. I… I believe they died in an unknown incident, but no body was ever found.

**Chris: **That’s horrible…

**Janae: **Emperor Hendrix took particular interest in them when they were young. I didn’t get to see them much, and when I did, it didn’t last long. When Emperor Hendrix declared he had found a new heir, they disappeared. Many say they passed away, though I’ve become less sure that is the case as of late.

**Chris: **How old would they be now? If they survived, maybe I could help to search for them.

**Janae: **Twenty-two as of the most recent Wyvern Moon… I still celebrate their birthday with each passing year, though I doubt they will ever return to me.

**Chris: **I’d be happy to help you find them. Would you want me to assist you?

**Janae: **I… If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, yes…

**Chris: **I’ll do all I can to help you. I swear it.

**Janae: **Thank you… Professor, I would like to speak with you more at some point. Is that alright?

_You nod._

**Janae: **I thank you for your kindness… We have much to discuss. If possible, I would like to accompany you back to the monastery. I have no family tying me here, and I believe I would be a better fit for Garreg Mach Monastery. Is that okay with you?

_You tell her it would be lovely._

**Janae: **How kind… You were raised well…

_Polly pokes her head into the room._

**Polly: **Come on. We’ve found what the church was hiding.

_You follow Polly with Chris at your side. You head deeper into the building where another woman is standing. She bears an uncanny resemblance to Herwig, and a sword is in her hands. The hilt is a platinum green, and the blade itself is silvery and curves back and forth._

**Herwig: **Professor, Chris… I’m glad to see you are back. I would like to introduce you to my sister, Erika. She has been living here for the past few months.

**Erika: **It’s a pleasure to meet you.

**Hegias: **When we were asking for something that Malice might want, she instantly knew what it was.

**Erika: **This blade is known as Sirius… At least, that is what we have named it. It was unearthed many years ago by the church.

**Nesreen: **The monastery suffered from invasions as many fighters tried to break in and steal it.

**Yuliya: **It was moved here for safekeeping after a while.

**Florence: **It was kept from the public to prevent others from getting interested in stealing it.

**Callisto: **Malice came after this church to try and get their hands on it.

**Zelhira: **If it remains here, Malice might try to find it once again.

**Aquillus: **Perhaps we should take it with us to ensure it is safe.

**Erika: **I was thinking that as well. I believe Garreg Mach Monastery while be able to defend it from here on out.

**Tuncay: **This sword is amazing… It would be a shame for this thing not to get used.

**Polly: **Maybe we should give it to someone worthy of using a sword.

**Chris: **I nominate the professor.

_You respond with shock._

**Kaeta: **You’ve done so much for us up to this point. Plus, your skills with a sword are pretty impressive. I think it would be a good match.

**Herwig: **We can consult Lady Aisa on if giving it to you would be a good idea.

**Nesreen: **We have a lot to tell her when we get back.

**Polly: **This church isn’t safe for anyone to stay in anymore.

**Callisto: **Malice could come back.

**Florence: **All the people who live here will have to relocate.

**Hegias: **I’m sure Garreg Mach would be happy to welcome anyone who needed a home.

**Erika: **I will be joining you back to the monastery. It… It will be safer there.

**Kaeta: **Great. We should head out before Malice comes back.

**Tuncay: **Are all the people in the area evacuated?

**Yuliya: **I took care of it already.

**Aquillus: **Splendid. If there are no further issues, let’s get going.

**Zelhira: **It sounds like a plan.

**Chris: **Off we go.

_You start to walk away from the area, still holding onto Sirius. Janae and Erika walk past You, though Janae’s gaze lingers for a while as she passes You. Seraphine appears as You continue to watch the sword intently._

**Seraphine: **I can sense great power coming from this blade… Something deep within me wants to feel how it works in battle. Can you sense that as well? My heart feels oddly full…

_You nod your agreement, and You swing Sirius through the air when You are sure nobody will be hit by it. Gentle golden light chases after the sword, and You stare in surprise. This power is clearly not of this world._

**Seraphine: **Incredible… Perhaps Lady Aisa will know what it means… We’ll have to ask her about it as soon as we can.

_You nod and continue with your long journey back to the monastery, wondering what power Sirius could hold all the way there…_

_When You arrive, You immediately go to the audience chamber to visit Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **Professor, it’s good to see you.

**Roy: **I take it your mission went well?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I’m glad…

**Roy: **I made accomodations ahead of time for the people living in the church. Their home is a location of note for Malice now, and they will strike again if they think it will suit their ends.

**Aisa: **What is that in your hands?

_You show them Sirius and explain its tale._

**Roy: **I wasn’t even sure it was real… Nobody has brought it up in many years.

**Aisa: **Incredible… How do you feel when wielding it?

_You say that it feels oddly perfect to hold the blade._

**Roy: **How odd… There are some weapons that function better when in the hands of those with compatible Crests. Perhaps yours works with it.

**Aisa: **It must have been constructed with a Crest’s power in mind… Amazing, truly.

**Roy: **If the weapon is truly compatible with you, I believe you should be the one to hold onto it.

**Aisa: **I agree. We… We know of none with the same Crests as you. It is impossible to say if this one is activated by Unio or the Crest of Flames, and we have no ability to test it… It is yours.

_You thank them for their generosity._

**Roy: **You’re welcome.

**Aisa: **What else? Did you find anything else on the mission?

_You say that You met with Herwig’s younger sister, Erika._

**Roy: **I suspected you would… He’s been worried sick this past month thinking about her. I’m relieved to know she is safe.

_You go on to say that You stumbled upon a former consort who lived in Hendrix’s court._

**Aisa: **That is truly unexpected…

**Roy: **I thought all of his former consorts were missing.

_You ask what he means._

**Aisa: **Emperor Hendrix had a great many consorts years ago. However, that all changed roughly twelve years ago.

**Roy: **All of the consorts were driven out when an heir to the throne was found. Said heir is the sole person the emperor claims as his child.

**Aisa: **The other children disappeared or died in mysterious accidents one after another. Their mothers were exiled from Adrestia or executed for crimes against the court.

**Roy: **However, it would be unwise to ask him about this… He denies such things ever happened.

**Seraphine: **Everything happened twelve years ago… Evenor worked with the Faixnoye family until twelve years ago. Emperor Hendrix had many children and consorts until twelve years ago. I first appeared about twelve years ago. Chris was named heir to Adrestia twelve years ago. You were renamed from Crescent twelve years ago. All of these must be connected… But how?

**Aisa: **You should return to your students. They should be sent off to sleep for now.

**Roy: **Please… Avoid telling them about the previous issues with the emperor of Adrestia’s infidelity. We do not wish to cause further panic.

_You nod your understanding._

**Aisa: **Until next time, Professor.

**Roy: **Have a nice evening.

_You walk back to the classroom as Seraphine appears next to You._

**Seraphine: **I want to know more about Crescent. If all of this happened twelve years ago, we should ask somebody involved in what happened back then if they know anything. We can conduct an official investigation next time we can explore the monastery.

_You agree as You arrive at the classmate._

**Seraphine: **I just hope it doesn’t come back to bite us.

_You walk into the classroom, and Seraphine disappears._

**Herwig: **The month is over, and the people in the church have been rescued.

**Hegias: **How is your sister doing, Professor Wessin?

**Nesreen: **I gave her a room. She’ll be serving Lady Aisa here alongside the other priestess we stumbled upon.

**Polly: **Janae McCreary…

**Zelhira: **She certainly seems like an odd woman.

**Aquillus: **We shouldn’t discuss her behind her back.

**Tuncay: **I think we should talk about getting to sleep. I’m exhausted.

**Kaeta: **That’s the best plan I’ve ever heard.

**Florence: **I’m glad we all agree on that.

**Callisto: **But first, Professor… What happened with Sirius? Are you keeping it?

_You nod._

**Chris: **I’m glad to hear that… You’ll handle it well.

**Yuliya: **Try not to lose it, alright?

**Herwig: **I need to go check on Erika. I’ll see you all later.

**Nesreen: **Ms. McCreary fell asleep as soon as I took her to her quarters… We should let her rest.

**Florence: **I hope they settle in alright… They have a lot of adapting to do.

**Callisto: **We’ll be here to help them if they need it.

**Hegias: **They sure fell asleep quickly…

**Polly: **I suppose today was exhausting for all of us.

**Tuncay: **That being said, goodnight.

**Yuliya: **I have to start the night shift anyways… See you later.

**Aquillus: **Have a nice night, everyone…

**Zelhira: **Until we meet again.

**Kaeta: **I’ll see you around.

**Chris: **Goodnight, Professor.

_Everyone leaves the classroom. You watch them go before heading to your room. Seraphine appears and walks next to You._

**Seraphine: **If you ask me, people who were involved with Adrestia’s government twelve years ago should be our first people to ask. Perhaps Chris would know something… Same with the other house leaders. Lady Aisa and Cordelia might know as well.

_You nod as You sit on your bed._

**Seraphine: **I don’t know what our next mission is, but right now, I don’t really care. I want to know more about Crescent… Plus, Sirius is at our side… I’m sure it will do something to guide us to the truth. I pray it does.

_You agree with her._

**Seraphine: **All of that investigating can wait though… I’m exhausted. Goodnight. Sleep tight.

_You lay down as Seraphine disappears. It does not take You long to fall asleep, but your dreams are plagued by thoughts of Crescent, Sirius, and Janae. Who could have given You the name Crescent? How is Sirius connected to You? Why does Janae hold such curiosity regarding You? However, no answers come to You in your sleep, and You let yourself rest, knowing a lengthy and trying investigation awaits You the next time You open your eyes… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's fifteen updates in half an hour wow
> 
> -Digital


	56. Chapter Nine: Divine Salvation I (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You plan to rescue a minor church in Faerghus.

_At the start of the Ethereal Moon, You wake up as Seraphine manifests._

**Seraphine: **We’re probably going to be helping out that minor church this month… I can’t imagine we would be doing anything else.

_You nod your agreement and start to head upstairs to meet Aisa and Roy. Upon your arrival, they address You quickly._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor.

**Roy: **I take it you already know what your mission will be?

_You nod and suggest the minor church from Faerghus._

**Aisa: **That assumption is correct. You will take one class to aid them in staving off the invasion from Malice.

**Roy: **However, this month has more in store than the simple mission.

**Aisa: **This is the month of the White Heron Cup, an annual dance competition among the houses. If you wish to compete, ask a student from your chosen house to go forth. Each house will select one person.

**Roy: **In most cases, the charming people will succeed, so keep that in mind.

_You nod._

**Aisa: **Soon after the White Heron Cup, there will be a festival here at the monastery… This year, the monastery turns 995 years old. This festival will celebrate that. We hold one each year.

**Roy: **Garreg Mach’s history of nearly a thousand years is celebrated on this night. All students of the Officers Academy are invited to attend.

**Aisa: **As a teacher, you will be helping to chaperone the event.

**Roy: **Make sure your little treasures stay out of trouble.

_You nod once again._

**Aisa: **Until then, there is something much more important to discuss…

**Roy: **I agree. Who will you be going with this month to eliminate Malice?

_You think for a moment before deciding to follow the Golden Deer._

**Aisa: **The Black Eagles are your choice?

_You confirm your decision._

**Roy: **I’m glad to hear it.

**Aisa: **You should head to see your students then. I’m sure they are waiting for you.

**Roy: **Have a nice day, Professor.

_You thank them before heading away from the room to move for the Officers Academy. Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **A ball? A dance competition? Shouldn’t we be focusing on more important things like the mission at hand?

_You shrug neutrally._

**Seraphine: **If the church wants to be like this, then I suppose that’s a decision out of our control. The least we can do is attempt to have a nice time. How does that sound?

_You nod your agreement as You arrive in the Golden Deer homeroom._

**Jill: **Good morning, Professor.

**Novalee: **It’s nice to see you.

**Adeline: **What’s our mission this time around?

_You tell them about the minor church._

**William: **It could be worse.

**Lev: **Be careful not to get ahead of yourself… That could easily be our downfall if we aren’t cautious.

**Sofia: **I’m sure we can handle it.

**Cedric:** I want to know about why Malice is targeting a small church. They’ve been going for large targets for ages.

**Wolfgang:** Last month, we heard this was likely a threat to the church as a whole.

**Raithius: **And they aren’t going to be backing out of it now.

**Jill: **We won’t let them escape.

**Sofia: **The people of the church are seeking rescue no matter what.

**Adeline: **What do we know about this church?

**Novalee:** It’s a small church near the capital of Faerghus, but not many people go there.

**Cedric: **Locals use it for prayer.

**William: **They’ll be swallowed if we don’t move.

**Wolfgang: **What people live near there?

**Lev: **They’re mostly priests and priestesses who want a smaller place to worship the goddess without coming to Garreg Mach.

**Raithius: **I want to know who we’ll run into.

**Jill: **We have a lot to do before we set out.

**William: **The ball is coming soon…

**Wolfgang: **Why are we ending our training to focus on a party?

**Adeline: **Tradition is at stake here.

**Novalee: **I think we should use it as a chance to relax.

**Sofia: **I pray a cute girl approaches me. I couldn’t even begin to count the number of sweeties who come here.

**Cedric: **I’m sure performers will have fun as well.

**Lev: **I just hope everyone else is happy.

**Raithius: **We’ll all be nice and happy. I’m sure of it.

**Jill:** Raithius is right. Everything will be fine.

**Lev: **Do we have to help set up?

**Novalee: **We should help to prepare the reception hall when the time comes.

**Adeline: **The White Heron Cup is something to keep in mind as well.

**Sofia: **A lot is coming this month.

**Wolfgang: **It won’t come if we just wait here though.

**Cedric: **A lot is waiting for us before that comes.

**William: **We should split up for now to get ready.

**Raithius: **Sounds like a plan!

**Jill: **Class is dismissed.

_The students all leave the classroom to explore the monastery. Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **Somehow, I get the feeling this minor church has more to it than meets the eye… I don’t know how to describe it. However, I don’t think we should worry about that right now. I want to focus on finding out more about ‘Crescent’ from last month… Who could have named you that? Who stole away that life from you? Who in the world is Rhian? Here’s to hoping the goddess has the answers.

_You nod about how You hope to find the truth as well. You begin to walk around the monastery as well. In the courtyard of the Officers Academy, You encounter Zelhira standing with Aquillus outside the classrooms._

**Zelhira: **I have a bad feeling about all this.

**Aquillus: **As much as I appreciate the upholding of tradition involved with the ball, I must wonder if this is a good idea.

**Zelhira: **Something could happen while we’re distracted with doing other things… I want to remain optimistic, but I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.

**Aquillus: **We’ll just need to remain alert.

**Zelhira: **I wish we could do more.

**Aquillus: **You aren’t the only one…

_In the training hall, You encounter Nora standing with Falon._

**Nora: **What do you think of the ball happening this month?

**Falon: **I’m really excited! I loved going to festivals when I was growing up, and I doubt this will be any different.

**Nora: **I hear there are some romantic implications about this party… Some say that dancing with someone at the ball can lead to lifelong relations.

**Falon: **I guess I’ll have to dance with all my friends then! I want to be around them forever.

**Nora: **That’s not what I… Never mind.

_Also in the training hall, You see Miriam and Derric together._

**Derric: **I can’t believe we’re going to be chaperoning the ball in such a short amount of time… Where did the year go?

**Miriam: **Are you actually excited about this?

**Derric: **Why wouldn’t I be? I can’t wait to see everyone get dressed up to have a good time!

**Miriam: **Yeah… Sure. Sounds like a blast.

**Derric: **Are you not excited for it?

**Miriam: **It doesn’t matter. Let’s move on.

_You leave the training hall and head to the first row of dorms. You look down the row and see Wolfgang standing with William._

**Wolfgang: **I’ve never been to one of these big parties before… What do I do?

**William: **I can’t say I’m exactly used to it either, but I’m sure we’ll get the hang of it soon enough.

**Wolfgang: **You sure do seem positive…

**William: **You won’t get anywhere in life if you’re negative about everything.

**Wolfgang: **I suppose you make a strong argument…

**William: **I’m sure you’ll have fun. Don’t worry a bit.

**Wolfgang: **If you insist…

_You head to the second floor of dorms, and You encounter Callisto, Kyle, and Adeline standing together._

**Callisto: **It’s finally time for the White Heron Cup!

**Kyle: **I hope I win it… Let’s just say you ladies will have some competition.

**Adeline: **I just want to have fun anyways…

**Kyle: **It’s okay to be competitive every once in a while.

**Callisto: **I know. Which is exactly what I’m going to say when you cry after I beat you.

**Adeline: **Goddess above…

**Kyle: **You think you’ll succeed?

**Callisto: **Think? I know it!

**Adeline: **Professor, save my soul…

_You head back downstairs and see Herwig standing alone in the greenhouse. You approach him._

**Herwig: **You know, my younger sister, Erika, lives at the minor church we’ll be saving this month… I’m incredibly worried about her. I don’t know what I would do if she got hurt… We’ll just have to make sure everything is alright in the end.

_You tell him You are confident it will end well._

**Herwig: **If you’re sure…

_At the fishing hole, You see Illona standing with Sofia._

**Sofia: **Do you have anyone to dance with at the ball, Lonnie?

**Illona: **Um… My boyfriend.

**Sofia: **Boyfriend. Seriously?

**Illona: **Yeah… Long, beautiful orange hair.

**Sofia: **Wow… I always knew your lying skills could use some improvement, but this is a new low.

**Illona: **What is that supposed to mean? He’s real!

**Sofia: **Sure… Would you be willing to save a dance for me regardless?

**Illona: **I’ll have to see how the night goes…

**Sofia: **I’m going to consider that a win!

_You head up towards the dining hall. Once there, You encounter Florence and Polly, who are standing together._

**Florence: **Imagine the party now… I’m sure it will be amazing! I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend my time.

**Polly: **You sure are excited about this.

**Florence: **I’ve never gotten the chance to go to a fancy party like this. I might as well take advantage of it.

**Polly: **Yeah… Alright. Sure.

**Florence: **Why so glum, Pol?

**Polly: **These parties really aren’t all they’re cracked up to be… I have a feeling this is going to end in disaster.

**Florence: **Loosen up! It’ll be fine!

**Polly: **If you insist…

_You leave the dining hall to move to the stables. Once there, You see Lev and Karim together._

**Lev: **I’m a bit concerned about this party, to be perfectly honest…

**Karim: **Why so? It’s not really that much to be worked up about.

**Lev: **I’ve never liked big social gatherings like this.

**Karim: **If you try relaxing, you’ll have a good time. It’s chaotic, yes, but it’s when everyone shows their most authentic selves.

**Lev: **Most authentic selves…

**Karim: **Did I say something wrong?

**Lev: **No… Not at all. Forget it.

_You head towards the knights’ hall next, and once inside, You observe Cordelia standing with Rodain._

**Cordelia: **As the ball rolls around, our busiest night of the year approaches.

**Rodain: **We’re certainly going to have our work cut out for us this time around…

**Cordelia: **We’ve been able to handle it before. I have faith we’ll be alright.

**Rodain: **The students are counting on us to keep them safe… It’ll be fine.

**Cordelia: **That’s the spirit!

_After finishing your business in the knights’ hall, You head to the entrance hall. Inside, You see Yuliya and Piers speaking to each other._

**Yuliya: **I’m not looking forward to being on guard duty.

**Piers: **Honestly, me neither. I’ve been doing it as long as I’ve been at the monastery, and it never gets any better.

**Yuliya: **If you ask me, there are too many people and too little space.

**Piers: **Understandable… It’s not fun to be surrounded by.

**Yuliya: **Good to know I’m not alone in that boat.

_You move to another pair standing in the entrance hall, though this time, they are Nesreen and Adrian._

**Nesreen: **In the past, I haven’t been around for the party… I always find some reason to miss out on it.

**Adrian: **Why is that?

**Nesreen: **It’s bound to be too crazy for me.

**Adrian: **I’d be happy to help you through it if you would accept me. Does that sound alright?

**Nesreen: **If you’re so insistent…

**Adrian: **It would be my honor.

_You head to the reception hall. You see Magnolia and Aestlyn chatting excitedly inside._

**Aestlyn: **I’ve been to countless parties before now, but none were ever here at the monastery… I can’t believe the day has finally come.

**Magnolia: **It’s going to be amazing! I want to see what our classmates can do when it comes to dancing.

**Aestlyn: **I hope at least someone saves a dance for me…

**Magnolia: **Well, even if nobody else does, I will!

**Aestlyn: **You’re far too kind…

_Nearby, You observe Cassia and Kaeta speaking to one another and approach them._

**Cassia: **Kaeta, what will you be doing the night of the ball?

**Kaeta: **Probably patrolling the area. That’s what most knights do.

**Cassia: **I see…

**Kaeta: **Why so interested?

**Cassia: **I’m not sure if I want to spend a lot of time inside the chaos of the festival.

**Kaeta: **I understand that. Well, if you need a place to decompress, I’m always free to help you out.

**Cassia: **Thank you…

**Kaeta: **No problem.

_You move towards the cathedral, and inside, You see Hegias and Tuncay standing together._

**Hegias: **I wonder how the White Heron Cup will go…

**Tuncay: **Are you interested in dancing?

**Hegias: **M-Me? Oh, no way… I’m praying nobody selects me to compete.

**Tuncay: **I feel the same… I don’t normally pray to the goddess, but I ask now that she ensures nobody looks at us a second time for the party.

**Hegias: **You can count me in on that…

_You head upstairs, and once there, You see Cedric speaking with Jill in the hallway._

**Cedric: **Attacking a minor church in Faerghus… Malice must have a reason for targeting this specific location.

**Jill: **I feel the same. Unfortunately, we don’t have any methods of figuring out what that motive could be.

**Cedric: **If only we did…

**Jill: **We’ll simply have to find out on our own when the time comes. Until then, we should be preparing for the ball.

**Cedric: **I have been to many parties like that, but… Something about them never gets old.

**Jill: **I wish you could share some of that enthusiasm with me.

_You move to the library, and inside, You see Niko and Reese speaking together._

**Reese: **With all that’s been happening as of late, I feel as if I haven’t had the chance to sleep enough…

**Niko: **Well, the library is one of the quietest places in the monastery. What if you joined me in here for a brief nap?

**Reese: **Goddess above, that sounds like heaven…

**Niko: **Pick a table… I’ll be joining you momentarily.

_In the hallway near the library, You encounter Wynne, who is standing alone._

**Wynne: **So much awaits us in the future… I can’t help but wonder what is out there. Malice is clearly planning something, but I want answers. Then again, a ball… Answers… They’re equally valued by the universe.

_In the commons room, You see Raithius and Novalee together._

**Raithius: **I started keeping notes of everything that has happened as of late for future reference…

**Novalee: **Do you think you’ll wind up needing it?

**Raithius: **I sure hope not. However, there’s something deep inside me that is saying I’ll have no choice but to keep it all in mind.

**Novalee: **I pray Malice is quelled before you take the throne, but I have a bad feeling that won’t be the case… Whatever happens, I’ll remain at your side.

**Raithius: **Thanks, Nova.

**Novalee: **It is my pleasure.

_At the edge of a hallway, You see Chris standing by herself._

**Chris: **This party is a sign of a million things at once… A thousand years have nearly passed since the construction of the monastery. It’s my first party away from the palace where the emperor can’t control my life. The school year is almost over. And yet… Even with all this, still more lurks in the shadows… At the very least, I can be relieved my father isn’t here. Aside from that, the future is uncertain.

_You assure her everything will be fine._

**Chris: **If you’re so sure.

_In the audience chamber, You see Aisa and Roy side by side._

**Aisa: **The White Heron Cup will be taking place two nights before the ball. You have until then to select a student representative.

**Roy: **I have a feeling you’ll pick whoever is right for your house. The other professors will take care of the other houses.

**Aisa: **I hope you have a nice time at the ball… It’s not something you’ll soon forget.

**Roy: **I must wonder if you have attended a party of this nature in the past… Hm. I suppose we’ll never know.

_After You have finished looking around the monastery, Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Well, I’m tired… Perhaps it’s time for us to get to sleep.

_You nod your agreement and start to head for your dorm. Seraphine walks beside You._

**Seraphine: **So much is happening… The festival will hopefully be fun, but it can’t distract us from the mission at hand. I won’t let that happen, and you had better not either.

_You nod once again._

**Seraphine: **Until then, I’m going to rest… We’ve been up and running around for too long today. Have a nice night, Professor.

_You go to sleep soon after Seraphine disappears. You wonder what the next month will hold. Thoughts of the White Heron Cup, festival, and mission ring in your head, but You are not sure which one to focus on first. No matter what, You get the feeling this month will be full of surprises… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Friday update? What is this witchcraft?!
> 
> Hopefully I'll actually be able to update on Fridays from now on. A lot of progress has been made with the project as of late, and I'm hella excited. I'm going to finish off all the C supports from before time skip next week, and after that, I'll jump right into paralogues. We're on a good track to have all the B supports finished by the end of May when the main story comes to a close for part one. Epic.
> 
> -Digital


	57. Chapter Nine: Divine Salvation II (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night of the ball arrives.

_You begin to think about who You might invite to attend the White Heron Cup. You decide to approach one of the Golden Deer to ask, and You find Raithius first._

**Raithius: **What’s your plan for the White Heron Cup? Who will be our representative?

_If You ask him to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **Alright! I’ll do my best to make sure this ends in our favor.

_If You do not ask him to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **I’ll trust your judgement on that. Good luck finding someone.

_You find Sofia next._

**Sofia: **You’re looking for somebody to compete in the White Heron Cup, right? How is it going?

_If You ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Sofia: **Got it! I’ll do my best! Goddess, this is going to get me so many dates… I didn’t say anything.

_If You do not ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Sofia: **Good luck taking care of it then! I’m always free to try.

_You find Wolfgang next._

**Wolfgang: **You’re looking for a White Heron Cup competitor… Any idea of who you’re picking?

_If You ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Wolfgang:** Me? Well… It wouldn’t hurt to do my best.

_If You do not ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Wolfgang: **That’s fine with me. Have a nice day, Professor.

_You find Cedric next._

**Cedric: **You’re looking for someone to compete in the dance competition… Have you found someone?

_If You ask him to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Cedric: **I won’t let you down, Professor!

_If You do not ask him to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Cedric: **In that case, good luck searching!

_You find Adeline next._

**Adeline: **You’re looking for someone for the White Heron Cup, aren’t you? Could… Could I volunteer?

_If You ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Adeline: **Thank you so much! I’ll do my best!

_If You do not ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Adeline: **O-Okay… Feel free to approach me again if you change your mind…

_You find Novalee next._

**Novalee: **Come to think of it, the White Heron Cup is coming… What’s your plan there?

_If You ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Novalee: **Me? Alright… You dug this grave.

_If You do not ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Novalee: **Thank the goddess… That wouldn’t end well at all.

_You find William next._

**William: **Have you made your choice on who will be representing our house for the White Heron Cup?

_If You ask him to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**William: **Okay… I’ll try not to fail at this. Thank you for having faith in me.

_If You do not ask him to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**William: **That’s fine with me. I trust you to make the right decision.

_You find Lev next._

**Lev: **Have you found somebody from our house for the White Heron Cup yet?

_If You ask him to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Lev: **You can’t be serious… This isn’t going to go well at all…

_If You do not ask him to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Lev: **You should ask Adeline, Cedric, or Sofia… They’d do well at it.

_After selecting your representative, You will have the chance to practice dancing with them. If You choose to practice, the participant’s charm will rise by five points afterwards._

_If Raithius is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **We should practice to make sure we’re ready. What do you say?

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Raithius: **Awesome… I have faith I’ll do great.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **That’s fine. Tell me if you change your mind.

_If Sofia is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Sofia: **Practice is important in these situations. What do you think we should do?

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Sofia: **That was more fun than I expected.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Sofia: **You have a lot of faith in me… I can’t let you down now.

_If Wolfgang is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Wolfgang: **Preparation is important, right? Maybe we should practice.

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Wolfgang: **I think I’m getting better!

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Wolfgang: **Fine with me. We can do it later.

_If Cedric is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Cedric: **Preparation is key to win. Would you want to work now?

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Cedric: **I enjoyed that. Thank you again.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Cedric: **Understood. Tell me if your perspective shifts.

_If Adeline is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Adeline: **I… I’m going to practice before performing. Would you like to join me?

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Adeline: **Thank you for coming… It means a lot.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Adeline: **Okay… I’ll take care of it on my own.

_If Novalee is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Novalee:** Perhaps I should practice… Just to make sure this doesn’t end too horribly wrong.

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Novalee: **Thank you for helping me.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Novalee: **You sure do have a lot of confidence in me…

_If William is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**William: **Practice is important, I’ve learned. Would you like to join me?

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**William: **Thank you again for your assistance.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**William: **Okay… If you think that is best, I’ll follow you.

_If Lev is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Lev: **This won’t go well unless I prepare… Would you help me?

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Lev: **I feel a little better now… That’s something.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Lev: **It’s almost like you’re trying to doom me…

_The night of the White Heron Cup arrives. You go to the reception hall to watch._

**Roy: **Greetings, everyone! Welcome to the White Heron Cup! The annual dance competition has arrived once more. Three judges will watch the performers. I will be the first. Second, we have the one and only… Derric! Third and finally, Adrian will watch everyone! We will judge everyone impartially and fairly. With that said, send your representatives forward!

_The three contestants step forward._

**Roy: **And… Begin!

_The contestants begin to dance._

**Roy: **That’s all! It’s time for the judges to say what they think! Derric, you go first!

_If the Black Eagles competitor has the highest charm, Derric will say the following._

**Derric: **My vote goes to the Black Eagles. I loved watching your performance.

_If the Blue Lions competitor has the highest charm, Derric will say the following._

**Derric: **My vote goes to the Blue Lions. You did amazing out there.

_If the Golden Deer competitor has the highest charm, Derric will say the following._

**Derric: **My vote goes to the Golden Deer. Incredible job!

_If the Black Eagles competitor has the highest charm, Adrian will say the following._

**Adrian: **I vote for the Black Eagles. I’m amazed for sure.

_If the Blue Lions competitor has the highest charm, Adrian will say the following._

**Adrian: **I vote for the Blue Lions. I loved everything about that show.

_If the Golden Deer competitor has the highest charm, Adrian will say the following._

**Adrian: **I vote for the Golden Deer. I’m still in awe.

_If the Black Eagles competitor has the highest charm, Roy will say the following._

**Roy: **Factoring in my opinion, our winner is… The Black Eagles!

_If the Blue Lions competitor has the highest charm, Roy will say the following._

**Roy: **Factoring in my opinion, our winner is… The Blue Lions!

_If the Golden Deer competitor has the highest charm, Roy will say the following._

**Roy: **Factoring in my opinion, our winner is… The Golden Deer!

_The student who won will say their line below while all others remain silent. Note that if the player chose Callisto, Kyle, or Adeline, their victory is guaranteed no matter what. If none of them are entered by the player, the victory is dependent on who has the highest charm. Their victory is not guaranteed if they are rivals for the competition. After time skip, regardless of who wins, Callisto, Kyle, and Adeline will return in the dancer class by default._

**Chris: **Wait… I won? What were they thinking?!

**Polly: **I’m glad this went well.

**Florence: **Maybe I’m not as bad as I thought!

**Zelhira: **I’m relieved you enjoyed my performance.

**Hegias: **I hope I made everyone proud.

**Callisto: **Of course I won! How could I fail?

**Tuncay: **Wow… I can’t believe that just happened.

**Aquillus: **It went much more favorably than I anticipated.

**Magnolia: **Thank the goddess I succeeded.

**Aestlyn: **I… I did it! Wow!

**Nora: **Color me surprised… Doesn’t mean I’m upset.

**Illona: **And here I thought I was lying when I said I could dance…

**Kyle: **I won’t be letting this chance to improve pass me up.

**Karim: **Not everything goes as planned… Not that I’m objecting.

**Cassia: **Perhaps I did retain some knowledge on dancing over the years…

**Falon: **That… That did not go as planned.

**Raithius: **That was for you, Golden Deer!

**Sofia: **The girls are going to go crazy for this…

**Wolfgang: **Wow… Who knew I had it in me?

**Cedric: **It was the least I could do.

**Adeline: **Wow… It’s only uphill from here!

**Novalee: **I definitely did not see this one coming…

**William: **I can’t let this new talent go to waste.

**Lev: **I… There must be some mistake…

_After the student speaks, Roy will say the following._

**Roy: **Have a nice night everyone! I hope you all enjoyed!

_The night before the ball, You stand in the Golden Deer classroom with the students._

**Raithius: **The ball has nearly arrived. This month passed in the blink of an eye.

**Cedric: **I can’t calm my excitement for the party.

**Sofia: **Maybe I’ll find a girlfriend while the festivities are going on.

**Wolfgang: **I hope this isn’t as messy as I fear.

**William: **I’m sure everything will be fine. Have some faith, everyone.

**Jill: **No need to worry.

**Lev: **I hope you’re right.

**Adeline: **We shouldn’t stress out too much… We’ll be alright…

**Novalee: **Do any of you have plans for who you wish to share a dance with?

**Cedric: **Dance with? Hm… I hadn’t thought about it.

**Sofia: **I find it best to leave my options open.

**Adeline: **I’m just going to try and have fun…

**William: **We can make that decision when the time comes.

**Lev: **That might be best.

**Wolfgang: **I’m concerned I’ll step on people’s toes.

**Jill: **I’m used to seeing much more enthusiasm than this…

**Novalee: **I’m neutral… Whatever happens will happen.

**Raithius: **You know… I have a suggestion.

**Jill: **What is it?

**Raithius: **We should have a class reunion five years from now. It will be the same day as the millennium festival. It’s a perfect excuse to meet up.

**Novalee: **I would gladly see everybody again.

**Wolfgang: **I would gladly attend.

**Sofia: **I want to see how you’re all doing in five years.

**Cedric: **I would love to see you all years from now.

**Lev:** I think the other classes had the same thing in mind…

**William: **We should meet together for sure.

**Adeline:** I’m sure everyone will have gone far in life.

**Wolfgang: **What do you think, Professor? Will you come back?

_You nod._

**Novalee: **It’s a plan then.

**Cedric: **I’ll do you all proud until we meet again.

**Sofia: **That sounds like a lot of fun.

**William: **You’re all getting a bit ahead of yourselves. The current ball hasn’t even happened.

**Adeline: **Still, I’ll be sure to come by.

**Jill: **Same here.

**Lev: **I’ll do my best to come.

**Raithius: **It’s a deal then! No matter what, I’ll be here, and I hope the rest of you decide to join me for the festival.

_You walk out of the classroom as the students do the same. Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine:** Meeting up after five years… That would be nice. Who can say where we will be in that time? Our teaching assistant deal expires at the end of this year, and the students will be off to make their own places in the world… Sounds like the perfect excuse to come together again.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **But now is hardly the time to think of such things. We should head back to our room. We have to rest before the ball tomorrow.

_You head to your room and rest for the night, thinking about what could happen at the ball. You fall asleep soon after with Seraphine doing the same._

_The next day, You attend the ball. You see many students dancing around the reception hall. People chat and drink. You stand near the outside of the room most of the time, watching everything unfurl. A few times, You are asked to dance, and You comply each time. The other teachers and knights watch over the room, enjoying the festivities from a distance. After a while, the chaos begins to get to You, and You walk away from the reception hall._

**Seraphine: **That was getting to be too much for me as well… I need some peace right now.

_You nod and attempt to find somewhere peaceful as You walk around the monastery. Your gaze eventually sets on the Goddess Tower on the far side of the cathedral._

**Seraphine: **The Goddess Tower, huh? I bet that place is empty tonight… Let’s go up there to decompress for a little while… I wonder if anyone will meet you there.

_You think about who You would like to meet You there._

**Seraphine: **No time to waste standing around though. Let’s get going!

_You nod and head towards the Goddess Tower, leaving the dancefloor behind._

_At this time, whoever the player thought about will go to the Goddess Tower. Their conversation will play out here. Afterwards, the script will come together regardless of who was summoned, and it will end the same way no matter what._

_After the ball ends, You return to your room and sleep. You are exhausted after all that took place at the ball. You know more is yet to come, and You slip into slumber, wondering what your mission might entail… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The White Heron Cup dialogue is so fun to write. I love how some people are great at dancing, but others would rather chop off their right arm than try to dance in the competition.
> 
> -Digital


	58. Chapter Nine: Divine Salvation III (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Golden Deer set out to save the church, meeting a peculiar woman upon arriving.

_The day of your mission, You wake up, and Seraphine manifests beside You._

**Seraphine: **Well, now that the ball is over with, the time has come… Faerghus awaits us. The people of that church need to be protected from Malice, and we’re just the people to take care of the job.

_You nod and walk to the Golden Deer homeroom. Inside, the students wait with Jill, Nesreen, Kaeta, and Yuliya._

**Jill: **We’re almost ready to go.

**Novalee: **I can’t help but wonder what is coming for us.

**Adeline: **There has to be something they want in this church.

**William: **Whether they want something or not, this is sending a message to the Church of Seiros as a whole.

**Yuliya: **They’re being ridiculous…

**Sofia: **They must think this will further their ideals. Why else would they make such a bold move?

**Cedric:** We’ll find out soon enough.

**Kaeta: **If they think they can get away with this, they’re sorely mistaken.

**Nesreen: **Lady Aisa is counting on us to defend the followers of Seiros.

**Wolfgang: **We will be victorious no matter what.

**Lev: **You’re so confident… It’s admirable.

**Raithius: **They won’t know what hit them.

**Jill: **The people near the church are depending on us to win this. We have to be prepared for whatever Malice might throw at us.

**Kaeta: **We can’t let them down now.

**Novalee: **I don’t know if this will go well…

**Adeline: **Let’s think about that later.

**William:** For now, we have a lot to take care of.

**Sofia: **I’m ready as can be.

**Cedric: **I know I sure am. We’re rested after the ball, so we should be prepared.

**Nesreen: **Lady Aisa is expecting us to come out victorious.

**Lev: **Are we all prepared?

**Wolfgang: **I sure am.

**Yuliya: **We’re finished waiting around. Let’s get to it.

**Raithius: **I hope Malice is ready to fall before the might of the Golden Deer!

_The students walk away. Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **I highly doubt it, but I wonder if we’ll find out more about this Crescent person we heard about last month… A girl can dream, I suppose.

_You set out for Faerghus soon after. When You arrive, You stand with the Golden Deer near the church._

**Raithius: **We’ve arrived.

**Novalee: **For how close this church is to the capital, it sure is small.

**Lev: **It must be incredible on the inside then.

**Wolfgang: **Why are we still standing around? There’s work to be done.

**Kaeta: **We should head in there and warn the people inside.

**Jill: **Let’s set up a perimeter around the church.

**Adeline: **Malice won’t be getting past us.

**William: **Safety is what we need to value first.

**Nesreen: **Should a few of us go inside to warn them while the others get ready?

**Sofia: **Raithius, Professor… Why don’t you take care of it?

**Cedric: **We’ll finish things out here.

**Yuliya: **Get in there, you two. No time to waste.

_The rest of the students start to prepare for the coming battle, and You are left alone with Raithius._

**Raithius: **It seems everybody’s decided. We don’t have long before Malice shows up, so we should take care of this quickly.

_You nod and head into the church alongside Raithius. Once inside, You look around and see pews lining the area. A single woman kneels at the front of the room, praying before a statue of Saint Seiros. She is wearing all white, and her navy hair is covered by a veil. Upon hearing You enter, she rises to her feet and turns to face You._

**Raithius: **Excuse us… Miss? Are we interrupting your prayers?

**Janae: **N-No, don’t worry at all… Is something the matter?

**Raithius: **We were sent by the Church of Seiros to ensure nobody in this area is hurt. An attack is supposed to be headed this way.

**Janae: **How horrible… Who might you be?

**Raithius: **Professor, I’ll leave this to you.

_You speak up to introduce yourself and Raithius to the woman._

**Janae: **I had no idea I was in the presence of the future sovereign duke! Please, forgive me…

**Raithius: **It’s nothing to worry about. I wouldn’t say I’m a formal person. I want to know your name for now.

**Janae: **Janae McCreary… I’m a priestess for this church…

**Raithius: **It’s a pleasure to meet you.

**Janae: **And you… I-I feel as if we have met somewhere before…

**Seraphine: **This is it… She might know something about Crescent!

_You ask where You could have met her before._

**Janae: **I… It’s a story for another time…

**Raithius:** What about we go over it after the fight is over?

**Janae: **Alright… You… You go to school with the daughter of Hendrix von Faixnoye, yes? That is what I have heard at least…

**Raithius: **That’s correct.

**Janae: **How old is she?

**Raithius: **Eighteen as of a few moons ago. Why?

**Janae: **Impossible…

**Raithius: **Impossible? How?

**Janae: **O-Oh, it’s nothing… Has she ever mentioned me?

**Raithius: **No, never. Why do you ask?

**Janae: **I used to… I used to work in the palace of Enbarr. I was a maid there nearly two decades ago.

**Raithius: **Wow… I didn’t know that.

**Janae: **One might call me a consort of the emperor… The story is long, and I do not believe we have the time for it at the moment, but perhaps I can explain the full thing to you one day.

**Raithius: **Somebody with relations to the emperor… Color me surprised.

**Janae: **Relations is one term I would use…

**Seraphine: **Even if she supposedly has a close connection to Chris, she keeps on looking at you weirdly instead of focusing on Raithius… Why is that?

**Janae: **You know, I never knew she existed. I was there for much of the time in which Emperor Hendrix was fathering children. He had upwards of twenty-five back in the day, but that has since changed. Just before I left, most of them died… If another child appeared while all the previous kids died, I would have been aware.

**Raithius: **How peculiar… Chris never brought up having any siblings. Even if she tried to keep it a secret, I would have figured it out.

**Janae: **How odd…

**Raithius: **There is one thing I have to ask though… She has been wondering more about her mother as of late. Would you know anything on that subject?

**Janae: **That’s… Well…

_Novalee enters the room._

**Novalee: **Malice has nearly arrived.

**Raithius: **Pardon me for cutting this conversation short. We have business to take care of. Can we talk again later?

**Janae: **Of course… Good luck.

**Novalee: **The others are in position.

**Raithius: **Time to take care of business. Come on, Professor.

**Seraphine: **Janae is looking at us again… What has her so interested? I wonder…

_You head outside with Raithius and Novalee. The Golden Deer are set up around the perimeter of the church._

**Jill: **Malice wants to breach the church’s walls.

**Adeline: **I see giant snowballs… They’re going to try and run us over with them!

**William: **They’re using the climate to their advantage.

**Wolfgang: **We can’t let them get inside.

**Nesreen: **The snowballs are only going to get stronger as they roll down.

**Kaeta: **I wonder if it’s possible to slash a snowball in half with a sword.

**Lev: **I never expected to hear somebody ask that…

**Yuliya: **Regardless, we’ll figure it out soon enough.

**Sofia: **I doubt they’ll be holding back on us.

**Cedric: **Perhaps they see value in something the church has.

**Novalee: **They could have attacked any church to get the message across, and they chose this one.

**Raithius: **We’ll figure it out soon enough. For now, get ready to fight!

_The battle begins. Your forces are positioned in a circle around the edge of the church. The battle will be lost if any enemies breach the church’s entrance. You fight with the Golden Deer to keep Malice at bay. You are seeing their improvement already, and You have to admit that You are impressed. The enemy occasionally rolls snowballs down from the higher hills surrounding the church, though they break on impact when hitting one of your fighters. The leader of the enemy troops, Nathan, shows himself soon enough._

_If You initiate combat with Nathan, this dialogue plays out._

**Nathan: **I don’t know who you think you are, but you won’t be getting in our way of finding that sword. Now, step aside before I’m forced to end your life!

_If Raithius initiates combat with Nathan, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **I’m not sure what you’re plotting, but it won’t be going in your favor.

**Nathan: **If you think you can defeat us, you are sorely mistaken.

**Raithius: **Big talk for somebody who’s about to lose.

**Nathan: **I’m sick of talking. Time to die!

_If anyone else initiates combat with Nathan, this dialogue plays out._

**Nathan: **Get out of my way before I’m forced to strike you down.

_When Nathan is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Nathan: **Damn it… Don’t think this is the last you’ve seen of us…

_After the battle, You stand with the Golden Deer outside the church._

**Jill: **We held them off fully… Thank the goddess.

**Lev: **We should see if we can find out what they wanted.

**Wolfgang: **We could ask the local people if they have any ideas.

**Sofia: **They would be the people to know.

**Nesreen: **Not even I heard about what secrets this place could hold.

**Yuliya: **We have a lot of people to question.

**Cedric: **Let’s get right to it then.

**Novalee: **I’m glad nobody in the church was harmed.

**Adeline: **I would have never forgiven myself if they got hurt.

**William: **Let’s do one last sweep of the area to ensure they’re alright.

**Kaeta: **Let’s get to it then.

**Raithius: **I’ll join up with you guys later. I need to do something first.

_Raithius walks away as Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **He’s going to talk to Janae again… I want to ask her what’s going on as well. Let’s go after him.

_You follow Raithius into the main area of the church where Janae is standing._

**Janae: **I’m relieved the goddess granted you both safety.

**Raithius: **Let’s continue our previous conversation. Where were we?

**Janae: **You… You asked me about your friend’s mother.

**Rathius: **That’s it! Do you know any details?

**Janae: **I’m afraid not… My child was near the middle as far as ages ago. I stopped keeping up with Emperor Hendrix’s affairs soon after they were born.

**Raithius: **What happened to them?

**Janae: **They… They were stolen away from me from a young age. Once upon a time, they were declared as the heir to the Faixnoye line, but that changed when they were nine. Soon after, they disappeared. I… I believe they died in an unknown incident, but no body was ever found.

**Raithius: **How awful…

**Janae: **Emperor Hendrix took particular interest in them when they were young. I didn’t get to see them much, and when I did, it didn’t last long. When Emperor Hendrix declared he had found a new heir, they disappeared. Many say they passed away, though I’ve become less sure that is the case as of late.

**Raithius: **How old would they be these days? Perhaps we can try to track them.

**Janae: **Twenty-two as of the most recent Wyvern Moon… I still celebrate their birthday with each passing year, though I doubt they will ever return to me.

**Raithius:** I’ll help you look for them. Would you like help?

**Janae: **I… If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, yes…

**Raithius: **I’ll do what I can.

**Janae: **Thank you… Professor, I would like to speak with you more at some point. Is that alright?

_You nod._

**Janae: **I thank you for your kindness… We have much to discuss. If possible, I would like to accompany you back to the monastery. I have no family tying me here, and I believe I would be a better fit for Garreg Mach Monastery. Is that okay with you?

_You tell her it would be lovely._

**Janae: **How kind… You were raised well…

_Novalee pokes her head into the room._

**Novalee: **Lord Raithius, Professor… We figured out what the church was hiding all this time.

_You follow Novalee with Raithius at your side. You head deeper into the building where another woman is standing. She bears an uncanny resemblance to Herwig, and a sword is in her hands. The hilt is a platinum green, and the blade itself is silvery and curves back and forth._

**Jill: **Professor, Raithius… I’m glad to see you return. I would like to introduce you to Herwig’s younger sister, Erika. She has been living here for the past few months.

**Erika: **It’s a pleasure to meet you.

**Lev: **We brought up something Malice could want, and she knew what we were talking about immediately.

**Erika: **This blade is known as Sirius… At least, that is what we have named it. It was unearthed many years ago by the church.

**Nesreen: **The monastery suffered from invasions as many fighters tried to break in and steal it.

**Yuliya: **It was moved here for safekeeping after a while.

**Sofia: **It was moved in secret to keep the thefts minimal.

**Cedric:** Malice figured out it was here and came here to get it.

**William: **If it stays here, Malice might try to steal it again.

**Adeline: **We should bring it with us to the monastery.

**Erika: **I was thinking that as well. I believe Garreg Mach Monastery while be able to defend it from here on out.

**Wolfgang: **It would be a shame for it to only be a trophy… It’s an incredible blade.

**Novalee: **Perhaps we should find it a wielder.

**Raithius: **What about the professor?

_You respond with shock._

**Kaeta: **You’ve done so much for us up to this point. Plus, your skills with a sword are pretty impressive. I think it would be a good match.

**Jill: **We can always ask Lady Aisa what she thinks.

**Nesreen: **We have a lot to tell her when we get back.

**Novalee: **It’s not safe for people to remain here.

**Cedric: **Malice soldiers could return, I’m afraid.

**Sofia: **The people living in this area need to leave to be safe.

**Lev: **I bet the monastery would be happy to take in those who need it.

**Erika: **I will be joining you back to the monastery. It… It will be safer there.

**Kaeta: **Great. We should head out before Malice comes back.

**Wolfgang: **Have the people in this area evacuated already?

**Yuliya: **I took care of it already.

**Adeline: **We shouldn’t remain here any longer then.

**William: **I agree.

**Raithius: **The monastery awaits us.

_You start to walk away from the area, still holding onto Sirius. Janae and Erika walk past You, though Janae’s gaze lingers for a while as she passes You. Seraphine appears as You continue to watch the sword intently._

**Seraphine: **I can sense great power coming from this blade… Something deep within me wants to feel how it works in battle. Can you sense that as well? My heart feels oddly full…

_You nod your agreement, and You swing Sirius through the air when You are sure nobody will be hit by it. Gentle golden light chases after the sword, and You stare in surprise. This power is clearly not of this world._

**Seraphine: **Incredible… Perhaps Lady Aisa will know what it means… We’ll have to ask her about it as soon as we can.

_You nod and continue with your long journey back to the monastery, wondering what power Sirius could hold all the way there…_

_When You arrive, You immediately go to the audience chamber to visit Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **Professor, it’s good to see you.

**Roy: **I take it your mission went well?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I’m glad…

**Roy: **I made accomodations ahead of time for the people living in the church. Their home is a location of note for Malice now, and they will strike again if they think it will suit their ends.

**Aisa: **What is that in your hands?

_You show them Sirius and explain its tale._

**Roy: **I wasn’t even sure it was real… Nobody has brought it up in many years.

**Aisa: **Incredible… How do you feel when wielding it?

_You say that it feels oddly perfect to hold the blade._

**Roy: **How odd… There are some weapons that function better when in the hands of those with compatible Crests. Perhaps yours works with it.

**Aisa: **It must have been constructed with a Crest’s power in mind… Amazing, truly.

**Roy: **If the weapon is truly compatible with you, I believe you should be the one to hold onto it.

**Aisa: **I agree. We… We know of none with the same Crests as you. It is impossible to say if this one is activated by Unio or the Crest of Flames, and we have no ability to test it… It is yours.

_You thank them for their generosity._

**Roy: **You’re welcome.

**Aisa: **What else? Did you find anything else on the mission?

_You say that You met with Herwig’s younger sister, Erika._

**Roy: **I suspected you would… He’s been worried sick this past month thinking about her. I’m relieved to know she is safe.

_You go on to say that You stumbled upon a former consort who lived in Hendrix’s court._

**Aisa: **That is truly unexpected…

**Roy: **I thought all of his former consorts were missing.

_You ask what he means._

**Aisa: **Emperor Hendrix had a great many consorts years ago. However, that all changed roughly twelve years ago.

**Roy: **All of the consorts were driven out when an heir to the throne was found. Said heir is the sole person the emperor claims as his child.

**Aisa: **The other children disappeared or died in mysterious accidents one after another. Their mothers were exiled from Adrestia or executed for crimes against the court.

**Roy: **However, it would be unwise to ask him about this… He denies such things ever happened.

**Seraphine: **Everything happened twelve years ago… Evenor worked with the Faixnoye family until twelve years ago. Emperor Hendrix had many children and consorts until twelve years ago. I first appeared about twelve years ago. Chris was named heir to Adrestia twelve years ago. You were renamed from Crescent twelve years ago. All of these must be connected… But how?

**Aisa: **You should return to your students. They should be sent off to sleep for now.

**Roy: **Please… Avoid telling them about the previous issues with the emperor of Adrestia’s infidelity. We do not wish to cause further panic.

_You nod your understanding._

**Aisa: **Until next time, Professor.

**Roy: **Have a nice evening.

_You walk back to the classroom as Seraphine appears next to You._

**Seraphine: **I want to know more about Crescent. If all of this happened twelve years ago, we should ask somebody involved in what happened back then if they know anything. We can conduct an official investigation next time we can explore the monastery.

_You agree as You arrive at the classmate._

**Seraphine: **I just hope it doesn’t come back to bite us.

_You walk into the classroom, and Seraphine disappears._

**Jill: **The people in the minor church have been saved, so our mission is complete.

**Lev: **How is Professor Wessin’s sister doing?

**Nesreen: **I gave her a room. She’ll be serving Lady Aisa here alongside the other priestess we stumbled upon.

**Novalee: **Janae McCreary is her name.

**William: **She seems rather odd, I must say.

**Adeline: **I don’t think we should talk about her behind her back.

**Wolfgang:** Regardless of if that’s a good idea, I do think we should get to bed.

**Kaeta: **That’s the best plan I’ve ever heard.

**Sofia: **I think we all agree there.

**Cedric: **Before we split up, I must ask… What are you doing with Sirius, Professor? Will you bee keeping it?

_You nod._

**Raithius: **I think you’ll do the blade justice.

**Yuliya: **Try not to lose it, alright?

**Jill: **I hope the new arrivals sleep well.

**Nesreen: **Ms. McCreary fell asleep as soon as I took her to her quarters… We should let her rest.

**Sofia:** This is completely different from where they’re used to…

**Cedric: **We can help them adapt if need be.

**Lev: **They must have been exhausted…

**Novalee: **They surely aren’t the only tired ones…

**Wolfgang: **With that said, I’m off to sleep.

**Yuliya: **I have to start the night shift anyways… See you later.

**Adeline: **Enjoy your evening, everyone.

**William: **I’ll see you again soon enough.

**Kaeta: **I’ll see you around.

**Raithius: **Have a nice night, Professor.

_Everyone leaves the classroom. You watch them go before heading to your room. Seraphine appears and walks next to You._

**Seraphine: **If you ask me, people who were involved with Adrestia’s government twelve years ago should be our first people to ask. Perhaps Chris would know something… Same with the other house leaders. Lady Aisa and Cordelia might know as well.

_You nod as You sit on your bed._

**Seraphine: **I don’t know what our next mission is, but right now, I don’t really care. I want to know more about Crescent… Plus, Sirius is at our side… I’m sure it will do something to guide us to the truth. I pray it does.

_You agree with her._

**Seraphine: **All of that investigating can wait though… I’m exhausted. Goodnight. Sleep tight.

_You lay down as Seraphine disappears. It does not take You long to fall asleep, but your dreams are plagued by thoughts of Crescent, Sirius, and Janae. Who could have given You the name Crescent? How is Sirius connected to You? Why does Janae hold such curiosity regarding You? However, no answers come to You in your sleep, and You let yourself rest, knowing a lengthy and trying investigation awaits You the next time You open your eyes… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's the end of this version of chapter nine. 
> 
> Next week, we'll be three-quarters into Academy Phase. I'm so excited for War Phase. Granted, that's still a while off, because I need to do all the Ashen Wolves stuff after finishing the base content, but I'm still excited. Planning is going well, and Crimson Flower and Azure Moon all have chapter names. It's going to be epic. 
> 
> -Digital


	59. Chapter Nine: Divine Salvation I (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You plan to rescue a minor church in Faerghus.

_At the start of the Ethereal Moon, You wake up as Seraphine manifests._

**Seraphine: **We’re probably going to be helping out that minor church this month… I can’t imagine we would be doing anything else.

_You nod your agreement and start to head upstairs to meet Aisa and Roy. Upon your arrival, they address You quickly._

**Aisa: **Greetings, Professor.

**Roy: **I take it you already know what your mission will be?

_You nod and suggest the minor church from Faerghus._

**Aisa: **That assumption is correct. You will take one class to aid them in staving off the invasion from Malice.

**Roy: **However, this month has more in store than the simple mission.

**Aisa: **This is the month of the White Heron Cup, an annual dance competition among the houses. If you wish to compete, ask a student from your chosen house to go forth. Each house will select one person.

**Roy: **In most cases, the charming people will succeed, so keep that in mind.

_You nod._

**Aisa: **Soon after the White Heron Cup, there will be a festival here at the monastery… This year, the monastery turns 995 years old. This festival will celebrate that. We hold one each year.

**Roy: **Garreg Mach’s history of nearly a thousand years is celebrated on this night. All students of the Officers Academy are invited to attend.

**Aisa: **As a teacher, you will be helping to chaperone the event.

**Roy: **Make sure your little treasures stay out of trouble.

_You nod once again._

**Aisa: **Until then, there is something much more important to discuss…

**Roy: **I agree. Who will you be going with this month to eliminate Malice?

_You think for a moment before deciding to follow the Blue Lions._

**Aisa: **The Blue Lions are your choice?

_You confirm your decision._

**Roy: **I’m glad to hear it.

**Aisa: **You should head to see your students then. I’m sure they are waiting for you.

**Roy: **Have a nice day, Professor.

_You thank them before heading away from the room to move for the Officers Academy. Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **A ball? A dance competition? Shouldn’t we be focusing on more important things like the mission at hand?

_You shrug neutrally._

**Seraphine: **If the church wants to be like this, then I suppose that’s a decision out of our control. The least we can do is attempt to have a nice time. How does that sound?

_You nod your agreement as You arrive in the Blue Lions homeroom._

**Reese: **Morning, Professor.

**Falon: **I’m glad to see you chose our house this month.

**Adeline: **Do you know what this month’s mission is?

_You tell them about the minor church._

**Karim: **It sounds pretty simple.

**Cassia: **Don’t get too confident. Getting cocky can very easily bring us to our knees or defeat us completely.

**Kyle: **I’m sure we’ll be fine.

**Nora: **I’m curious though… Why target such a small church? They’ve been going after large targets all year.

**Illona: **They’re trying to threaten the Church of Seiros this time…

**Magnolia: **They don’t seem like they want to back down now either.

**Reese: **We won’t let them get away with it.

**Kyle: **The occupants of the minor church are relying on us.

**Adeline: **What do we know about this church as of now?

**Falon: **It’s a minor church in the vicinity of Fhirdiad. Not many people go there.

**Cassia: **Most of the time, people go for minor worship.

**Nora: **They’ll be easily overwhelmed without our help.

**Karim: **How about the people who live nearby? What are they like?

**Illona: **Most of them are priests and priestesses who want to pray to the goddess without making the journey to Garreg Mach.

**Magnolia: **It makes you wonder who we’ll meet when we get there.

**Reese: **No matter what, we have a lot to look forward to.

**Nora: **The ball is quickly approaching…

**Karim: **And we’re dropping our training to focus on it.

**Aestlyn: **It’s a tradition at this point. We don’t want to break it now.

**Falon: **We can use it to kick back and relax.

**Kyle: **I’m looking forward to seeing who comes… Maybe I’ll be able to find the love of my life the night of the festival.

**Cassia:** It will be nice to see people dance as well…

**Lev: **Everyone will be so happy…

**Magnolia: **Though I’m not sure if abandoning training is a great idea.

**Reese: **We teachers have it all under control.

**Illona: **Will we have to help prepare for the festivities?

**Falon: **Aside from helping to set up the reception hall, I can’t think of anything.

**Kyle: **Then there’s the matter of the White Heron Cup… I can’t wait for that.

**Nora: **So much is happening…

**Karim: **It’s all coming back to back…

**Aestlyn: **We’ve got a lot to do from now until then.

**Cassia: **Maybe we should divide to take care of individual business…

**Magnolia: **That’s a good idea.

**Reese: **Class dismissed.

_The students all leave the classroom to explore the monastery. Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **Somehow, I get the feeling this minor church has more to it than meets the eye… I don’t know how to describe it. However, I don’t think we should worry about that right now. I want to focus on finding out more about ‘Crescent’ from last month… Who could have named you that? Who stole away that life from you? Who in the world is Rhian? Here’s to hoping the goddess has the answers.

_You nod about how You hope to find the truth as well. You begin to walk around the monastery as well. In the courtyard of the Officers Academy, You encounter Zelhira standing with Aquillus outside the classrooms._

**Zelhira: **I have a bad feeling about all this.

**Aquillus: **As much as I appreciate the upholding of tradition involved with the ball, I must wonder if this is a good idea.

**Zelhira: **Something could happen while we’re distracted with doing other things… I want to remain optimistic, but I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.

**Aquillus: **We’ll just need to remain alert.

**Zelhira: **I wish we could do more.

**Aquillus: **You aren’t the only one…

_In the training hall, You encounter Nora standing with Falon._

**Nora: **What do you think of the ball happening this month?

**Falon: **I’m really excited! I loved going to festivals when I was growing up, and I doubt this will be any different.

**Nora: **I hear there are some romantic implications about this party… Some say that dancing with someone at the ball can lead to lifelong relations.

**Falon: **I guess I’ll have to dance with all my friends then! I want to be around them forever.

**Nora: **That’s not what I… Never mind.

_Also in the training hall, You see Miriam and Derric together._

**Derric: **I can’t believe we’re going to be chaperoning the ball in such a short amount of time… Where did the year go?

**Miriam: **Are you actually excited about this?

**Derric: **Why wouldn’t I be? I can’t wait to see everyone get dressed up to have a good time!

**Miriam: **Yeah… Sure. Sounds like a blast.

**Derric: **Are you not excited for it?

**Miriam: **It doesn’t matter. Let’s move on.

_You leave the training hall and head to the first row of dorms. You look down the row and see Wolfgang standing with William._

**Wolfgang: **I’ve never been to one of these big parties before… What do I do?

**William: **I can’t say I’m exactly used to it either, but I’m sure we’ll get the hang of it soon enough.

**Wolfgang: **You sure do seem positive…

**William: **You won’t get anywhere in life if you’re negative about everything.

**Wolfgang: **I suppose you make a strong argument…

**William: **I’m sure you’ll have fun. Don’t worry a bit.

**Wolfgang: **If you insist…

_You head to the second floor of dorms, and You encounter Callisto, Kyle, and Adeline standing together._

**Callisto: **It’s finally time for the White Heron Cup!

**Kyle: **I hope I win it… Let’s just say you ladies will have some competition.

**Adeline: **I just want to have fun anyways…

**Kyle: **It’s okay to be competitive every once in a while.

**Callisto: **I know. Which is exactly what I’m going to say when you cry after I beat you.

**Adeline: **Goddess above…

**Kyle: **You think you’ll succeed?

**Callisto: **Think? I know it!

**Adeline: **Professor, save my soul…

_You head back downstairs and see Herwig standing alone in the greenhouse. You approach him._

**Herwig: **You know, my younger sister, Erika, lives at the minor church we’ll be saving this month… I’m incredibly worried about her. I don’t know what I would do if she got hurt… We’ll just have to make sure everything is alright in the end.

_You tell him You are confident it will end well._

**Herwig: **If you’re sure…

_At the fishing hole, You see Illona standing with Sofia._

**Sofia: **Do you have anyone to dance with at the ball, Lonnie?

**Illona: **Um… My boyfriend.

**Sofia: **Boyfriend. Seriously?

**Illona: **Yeah… Long, beautiful orange hair.

**Sofia: **Wow… I always knew your lying skills could use some improvement, but this is a new low.

**Illona: **What is that supposed to mean? He’s real!

**Sofia: **Sure… Would you be willing to save a dance for me regardless?

**Illona: **I’ll have to see how the night goes…

**Sofia: **I’m going to consider that a win!

_You head up towards the dining hall. Once there, You encounter Florence and Polly, who are standing together._

**Florence: **Imagine the party now… I’m sure it will be amazing! I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend my time.

**Polly: **You sure are excited about this.

**Florence: **I’ve never gotten the chance to go to a fancy party like this. I might as well take advantage of it.

**Polly: **Yeah… Alright. Sure.

**Florence: **Why so glum, Pol?

**Polly: **These parties really aren’t all they’re cracked up to be… I have a feeling this is going to end in disaster.

**Florence: **Loosen up! It’ll be fine!

**Polly: **If you insist…

_You leave the dining hall to move to the stables. Once there, You see Lev and Karim together._

**Lev: **I’m a bit concerned about this party, to be perfectly honest…

**Karim: **Why so? It’s not really that much to be worked up about.

**Lev: **I’ve never liked big social gatherings like this.

**Karim: **If you try relaxing, you’ll have a good time. It’s chaotic, yes, but it’s when everyone shows their most authentic selves.

**Lev: **Most authentic selves…

**Karim: **Did I say something wrong?

**Lev: **No… Not at all. Forget it.

_You head towards the knights’ hall next, and once inside, You observe Cordelia standing with Rodain._

**Cordelia: **As the ball rolls around, our busiest night of the year approaches.

**Rodain: **We’re certainly going to have our work cut out for us this time around…

**Cordelia: **We’ve been able to handle it before. I have faith we’ll be alright.

**Rodain: **The students are counting on us to keep them safe… It’ll be fine.

**Cordelia: **That’s the spirit!

_After finishing your business in the knights’ hall, You head to the entrance hall. Inside, You see Yuliya and Piers speaking to each other._

**Yuliya: **I’m not looking forward to being on guard duty.

**Piers: **Honestly, me neither. I’ve been doing it as long as I’ve been at the monastery, and it never gets any better.

**Yuliya: **If you ask me, there are too many people and too little space.

**Piers: **Understandable… It’s not fun to be surrounded by.

**Yuliya: **Good to know I’m not alone in that boat.

_You move to another pair standing in the entrance hall, though this time, they are Nesreen and Adrian._

**Nesreen: **In the past, I haven’t been around for the party… I always find some reason to miss out on it.

**Adrian: **Why is that?

**Nesreen: **It’s bound to be too crazy for me.

**Adrian: **I’d be happy to help you through it if you would accept me. Does that sound alright?

**Nesreen: **If you’re so insistent…

**Adrian: **It would be my honor.

_You head to the reception hall. You see Magnolia and Aestlyn chatting excitedly inside._

**Aestlyn: **I’ve been to countless parties before now, but none were ever here at the monastery… I can’t believe the day has finally come.

**Magnolia: **It’s going to be amazing! I want to see what our classmates can do when it comes to dancing.

**Aestlyn: **I hope at least someone saves a dance for me…

**Magnolia: **Well, even if nobody else does, I will!

**Aestlyn: **You’re far too kind…

_Nearby, You observe Cassia and Kaeta speaking to one another and approach them._

**Cassia: **Kaeta, what will you be doing the night of the ball?

**Kaeta: **Probably patrolling the area. That’s what most knights do.

**Cassia: **I see…

**Kaeta: **Why so interested?

**Cassia: **I’m not sure if I want to spend a lot of time inside the chaos of the festival.

**Kaeta: **I understand that. Well, if you need a place to decompress, I’m always free to help you out.

**Cassia: **Thank you…

**Kaeta: **No problem.

_You move towards the cathedral, and inside, You see Hegias and Tuncay standing together._

**Hegias: **I wonder how the White Heron Cup will go…

**Tuncay: **Are you interested in dancing?

**Hegias: **M-Me? Oh, no way… I’m praying nobody selects me to compete.

**Tuncay: **I feel the same… I don’t normally pray to the goddess, but I ask now that she ensures nobody looks at us a second time for the party.

**Hegias: **You can count me in on that…

_You head upstairs, and once there, You see Cedric speaking with Jill in the hallway._

**Cedric: **Attacking a minor church in Faerghus… Malice must have a reason for targeting this specific location.

**Jill: **I feel the same. Unfortunately, we don’t have any methods of figuring out what that motive could be.

**Cedric: **If only we did…

**Jill: **We’ll simply have to find out on our own when the time comes. Until then, we should be preparing for the ball.

**Cedric: **I have been to many parties like that, but… Something about them never gets old.

**Jill: **I wish you could share some of that enthusiasm with me.

_You move to the library, and inside, You see Niko and Reese speaking together._

**Reese: **With all that’s been happening as of late, I feel as if I haven’t had the chance to sleep enough…

**Niko: **Well, the library is one of the quietest places in the monastery. What if you joined me in here for a brief nap?

**Reese: **Goddess above, that sounds like heaven…

**Niko: **Pick a table… I’ll be joining you momentarily.

_In the hallway near the library, You encounter Wynne, who is standing alone._

**Wynne: **So much awaits us in the future… I can’t help but wonder what is out there. Malice is clearly planning something, but I want answers. Then again, a ball… Answers… They’re equally valued by the universe.

_In the commons room, You see Raithius and Novalee together._

**Raithius: **I started keeping notes of everything that has happened as of late for future reference…

**Novalee: **Do you think you’ll wind up needing it?

**Raithius: **I sure hope not. However, there’s something deep inside me that is saying I’ll have no choice but to keep it all in mind.

**Novalee: **I pray Malice is quelled before you take the throne, but I have a bad feeling that won’t be the case… Whatever happens, I’ll remain at your side.

**Raithius: **Thanks, Nova.

**Novalee: **It is my pleasure.

_At the edge of a hallway, You see Chris standing by herself._

**Chris: **This party is a sign of a million things at once… A thousand years have nearly passed since the construction of the monastery. It’s my first party away from the palace where the emperor can’t control my life. The school year is almost over. And yet… Even with all this, still more lurks in the shadows… At the very least, I can be relieved my father isn’t here. Aside from that, the future is uncertain.

_You assure her everything will be fine._

**Chris: **If you’re so sure.

_In the audience chamber, You see Aisa and Roy side by side._

**Aisa: **The White Heron Cup will be taking place two nights before the ball. You have until then to select a student representative.

**Roy: **I have a feeling you’ll pick whoever is right for your house. The other professors will take care of the other houses.

**Aisa: **I hope you have a nice time at the ball… It’s not something you’ll soon forget.

**Roy: **I must wonder if you have attended a party of this nature in the past… Hm. I suppose we’ll never know.

_After You have finished looking around the monastery, Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Well, I’m tired… Perhaps it’s time for us to get to sleep.

_You nod your agreement and start to head for your dorm. Seraphine walks beside You._

**Seraphine: **So much is happening… The festival will hopefully be fun, but it can’t distract us from the mission at hand. I won’t let that happen, and you had better not either.

_You nod once again._

**Seraphine: **Until then, I’m going to rest… We’ve been up and running around for too long today. Have a nice night, Professor.

_You go to sleep soon after Seraphine disappears. You wonder what the next month will hold. Thoughts of the White Heron Cup, festival, and mission ring in your head, but You are not sure which one to focus on first. No matter what, You get the feeling this month will be full of surprises… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just finished posting all of the C supports from before time skip and damn there's so many of them
> 
> -Digital


	60. Chapter Nine: Divine Salvation II (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night of the ball arrives.

_You begin to think about who You might invite to attend the White Heron Cup. You decide to approach one of the Blue Lions to ask, and You find Magnolia first._

**Magnolia: **Professor, have you decided who will be representing us in the White Heron Cup?

_If You ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **You want me? Alright… I just have to warn you, I’m really clumsy. Sorry in advance.

_If You do not ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **Phew… I would trip over my own feet and take everyone down with me!

_You find Aestlyn next._

**Aestlyn: **How’s your search for a White Heron Cup competitor going? Do you have any ideas yet?

_If You ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Aestlyn: **Me? Oh, I’d be happy to!

_If You do not ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Aestlyn: **That’s okay. If you change your mind, I’m always here.

_You find Nora next._

**Nora: **Searching for a White Heron Cup competitor, huh? What’s your strategy?

_If You ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Nora:** I don’t think this is a good idea, but… If you insist.

_If You do not ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Nora: **That’s for the best… I would advise finding Kyle or Aestlyn. They would likely do well.

_You find Illona next._

**Illona: **You’re looking for somebody for the White Heron Cup? Um… You aren’t going to pick me, right?

_If You ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Illona: **How could you do this to me…?! I mean… I can totally dance! Yes! Totally!

_If You do not ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Illona: **Phew… You had me worried there for a second.

_You find Kyle next._

**Kyle: **Are you looking for somebody to compete in the White Heron Cup? I’d like to volunteer.

_If You ask him to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Kyle: **Thank you so much! I won’t let you down!

_If You do not ask him to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Kyle: **Okay… If you change your mind, please ask me.

_You find Karim next._

**Karim: **How’s your search for the White Heron Cup going?

_If You ask him to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Kyle: **Me? Uh… Alright. Whatever you say.

_If You do not ask him to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Karim: **Good plan. I trust you to make the right decision.

_You find Cassia next._

**Cassia: **Are you still looking for someone for the White Heron Cup? I hope it’s going well.

_If You ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Cassia: **Me…? If you insist…

_If You do not ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Cassia: **Understood. Good luck, Professor.

_You find Falon next._

**Falon: **You’re looking for someone to represent our class in the White Heron Cup, right? How is it going so far?

_If You ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Falon: **I’m sorry in advance for how poorly this goes… Good luck.

_If You do not ask her to compete, this dialogue plays out._

**Falon: **Thank the goddess… That would go horribly against us, I can promise you.

_After selecting your representative, You will have the chance to practice dancing with them. If You choose to practice, the participant’s charm will rise by five points afterwards._

_If Magnolia is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **I don’t want this to go too horribly wrong, so maybe we should practice.

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Magnolia: **That makes me feel a bit better… Thank you.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **You think I’m okay…? Odd choice, but okay.

_If Aestlyn is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Aestlyn:** Would you like to come with me to practice, Professor?

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Aestlyn: **That helped me out a lot! Thank you!

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Aestlyn: **Alright. Tell me if you change your mind.

_If Nora is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Nora:** Practicing might help to ensure success at the competition.

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Nora: **That helped out considerably.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Nora: **If you think that’s best…

_If Illona is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Illona: **Just to make sure I haven’t lost my dancing touch, practice would help…

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Illona: **Phew… That was helpful.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Illona:** I-I have a bad feeling about this…

_If Kyle is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Kyle: **I’m going to go rehearse. Do you want to come with me?

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Kyle: **Thank you for coming along, Professor. I really appreciate it.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Kyle: **Don’t worry about it. I have this under control.

_If Karim is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Karim:** Practice would help to make sure we win, right? Do you want to?

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Karim: **That was great! Thanks for joining me, Professor.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Karim: **If you say so… Your choice.

_If Cassia is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Cassia:** I should prepare for the competition… Would you like to accompany me?

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Cassia: **I rather enjoyed that. Thank you for joining me.

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Cassia: **Alright. I’ll trust your judgement.

_If Falon is selected for the White Heron Cup, this dialogue plays out._

**Faloj: **I don’t want to horribly muck this up, so perhaps I should practice…

_If You decide to practice, this dialogue plays out afterwards._

**Falon: **I’m doing a bit better now…!

_If You decide not to practice, this dialogue plays out._

**Falon: **I don’t feel good about this…

_The night of the White Heron Cup arrives. You go to the reception hall to watch._

**Roy: **Greetings, everyone! Welcome to the White Heron Cup! The annual dance competition has arrived once more. Three judges will watch the performers. I will be the first. Second, we have the one and only… Derric! Third and finally, Adrian will watch everyone! We will judge everyone impartially and fairly. With that said, send your representatives forward!

_The three contestants step forward._

**Roy: **And… Begin!

_The contestants begin to dance._

**Roy: **That’s all! It’s time for the judges to say what they think! Derric, you go first!

_If the Black Eagles competitor has the highest charm, Derric will say the following._

**Derric: **My vote goes to the Black Eagles. I loved watching your performance.

_If the Blue Lions competitor has the highest charm, Derric will say the following._

**Derric: **My vote goes to the Blue Lions. You did amazing out there.

_If the Golden Deer competitor has the highest charm, Derric will say the following._

**Derric: **My vote goes to the Golden Deer. Incredible job!

_If the Black Eagles competitor has the highest charm, Adrian will say the following._

**Adrian: **I vote for the Black Eagles. I’m amazed for sure.

_If the Blue Lions competitor has the highest charm, Adrian will say the following._

**Adrian: **I vote for the Blue Lions. I loved everything about that show.

_If the Golden Deer competitor has the highest charm, Adrian will say the following._

**Adrian: **I vote for the Golden Deer. I’m still in awe.

_If the Black Eagles competitor has the highest charm, Roy will say the following._

**Roy: **Factoring in my opinion, our winner is… The Black Eagles!

_If the Blue Lions competitor has the highest charm, Roy will say the following._

**Roy: **Factoring in my opinion, our winner is… The Blue Lions!

_If the Golden Deer competitor has the highest charm, Roy will say the following._

**Roy: **Factoring in my opinion, our winner is… The Golden Deer!

_The student who won will say their line below while all others remain silent. Note that if the player chose Callisto, Kyle, or Adeline, their victory is guaranteed no matter what. If none of them are entered by the player, the victory is dependent on who has the highest charm. Their victory is not guaranteed if they are rivals for the competition. After time skip, regardless of who wins, Callisto, Kyle, and Adeline will return in the dancer class by default._

**Chris: **Wait… I won? What were they thinking?!

**Polly: **I’m glad this went well.

**Florence: **Maybe I’m not as bad as I thought!

**Zelhira: **I’m relieved you enjoyed my performance.

**Hegias: **I hope I made everyone proud.

**Callisto: **Of course I won! How could I fail?

**Tuncay: **Wow… I can’t believe that just happened.

**Aquillus: **It went much more favorably than I anticipated.

**Magnolia: **Thank the goddess I succeeded.

**Aestlyn: **I… I did it! Wow!

**Nora: **Color me surprised… Doesn’t mean I’m upset.

**Illona: **And here I thought I was lying when I said I could dance…

**Kyle: **I won’t be letting this chance to improve pass me up.

**Karim: **Not everything goes as planned… Not that I’m objecting.

**Cassia: **Perhaps I did retain some knowledge on dancing over the years…

**Falon: **That… That did not go as planned.

**Raithius: **That was for you, Golden Deer!

**Sofia: **The girls are going to go crazy for this…

**Wolfgang: **Wow… Who knew I had it in me?

**Cedric: **It was the least I could do.

**Adeline: **Wow… It’s only uphill from here!

**Novalee: **I definitely did not see this one coming…

**William: **I can’t let this new talent go to waste.

**Lev: **I… There must be some mistake…

_After the student speaks, Roy will say the following._

**Roy: **Have a nice night everyone! I hope you all enjoyed!

_The night before the ball, You stand in the Blue Lions classroom with the students._

**Magnolia: **The night of the ball has almost come… Wow.

**Cassia: **Time has passed so quickly.

**Kyle: **I hope I can find someone to dance with the night of the party…

**Karim: **I feel like this is going to be pure chaos.

**Nora: **I hope I don’t have to dance too much…

**Reese: **You’ll all be fine.

**Illona: **It should be a lot of fun!

**Aestlyn: **This is our chance to relax. No need to stress too much.

**Falon: **About the party… Who do you all want to dance with?

**Kyle: **I’m fine dancing solo! Unless there are any volunteers…

**Cassia: **You sure do seem confident…

**Aestlyn: **I’m staying open-minded.

**Nora: **And I’ll be avoiding the dancefloor fully.

**Illona: **I agree with that…

**Karim: **Sitting out might be best for some of us.

**Reese: **I expected much more enthusiasm, I have to say…

**Falon: **I just hope I don’t horribly mess up on dancing…

**Magnolia: **No matter what, there’s something I would like to propose.

**Reese: **What’s on your mind?

**Magnolia: **What if we all came back to the monastery in five years? It will be the time of the millennium festival, so we’ll all have a reason to come here.

**Falon: **I’d like to see everybody again.

**Karim: **Sounds like fun.

**Kyle: **I’d love to see what you all are getting up to in five years.

**Cassia: **That would be nice…

**Illona:** I heard the other classes have that plan too.

**Nora: **We should take advantage of that opportunity.

**Aestlyn:** I would love to see everybody again.

**Karim: **What do you think, Professor? Will you return in five years?

_You nod._

**Falon: **Sounds like a plan then!

**Cassia: **I’m looking forward to it already.

**Kyle: **I’ll do you all proud.

**Nora: **We need to get through the current ball first, everyone.

**Aestlyn: **I’ll be here no matter what.

**Reese: **Same for me.

**Illona: **I’ll do my best to come.

**Magnolia: **It’s a deal! Five years from today, we’ll reunite… The Blue Lions will be back and better than ever before!

_You walk out of the classroom as the students do the same. Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine:** Meeting up after five years… That would be nice. Who can say where we will be in that time? Our teaching assistant deal expires at the end of this year, and the students will be off to make their own places in the world… Sounds like the perfect excuse to come together again.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **But now is hardly the time to think of such things. We should head back to our room. We have to rest before the ball tomorrow.

_You head to your room and rest for the night, thinking about what could happen at the ball. You fall asleep soon after with Seraphine doing the same._

_The next day, You attend the ball. You see many students dancing around the reception hall. People chat and drink. You stand near the outside of the room most of the time, watching everything unfurl. A few times, You are asked to dance, and You comply each time. The other teachers and knights watch over the room, enjoying the festivities from a distance. After a while, the chaos begins to get to You, and You walk away from the reception hall._

**Seraphine: **That was getting to be too much for me as well… I need some peace right now.

_You nod and attempt to find somewhere peaceful as You walk around the monastery. Your gaze eventually sets on the Goddess Tower on the far side of the cathedral._

**Seraphine: **The Goddess Tower, huh? I bet that place is empty tonight… Let’s go up there to decompress for a little while… I wonder if anyone will meet you there.

_You think about who You would like to meet You there._

**Seraphine: **No time to waste standing around though. Let’s get going!

_You nod and head towards the Goddess Tower, leaving the dancefloor behind._

_At this time, whoever the player thought about will go to the Goddess Tower. Their conversation will play out here. Afterwards, the script will come together regardless of who was summoned, and it will end the same way no matter what._

_After the ball ends, You return to your room and sleep. You are exhausted after all that took place at the ball. You know more is yet to come, and You slip into slumber, wondering what your mission might entail… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We just hit 60 chapters yall I
> 
> -Digital


	61. Chapter Nine: Divine Salvation III (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Blue Lions set out to save the church, meeting a peculiar woman upon arriving.

_The day of your mission, You wake up, and Seraphine manifests beside You._

**Seraphine: **Well, now that the ball is over with, the time has come… Faerghus awaits us. The people of that church need to be protected from Malice, and we’re just the people to take care of the job.

_You nod and walk to the Blue Lions homeroom. Inside, the students wait with Reese, Nesreen, Kaeta, and Yuliya._

**Reese: **We’ll be leaving shortly.

**Falon: **I wonder what will be waiting for us there.

**Aestlyn: **They must want something from the church.

**Nora: **Regardless of if they want something, they’re sending a message to the Church of Seiros first and foremost.

**Yuliya: **They’re being ridiculous…

**Kyle: **They seem to think this will help them in their quest. I can’t think of any other reasons they would do this.

**Cassia:** I’m sure we’ll find an answer soon enough.

**Kaeta: **If they think they can get away with this, they’re sorely mistaken.

**Nesreen: **Lady Aisa is counting on us to defend the followers of Seiros.

**Karim: **I’m sure we’ll find victory.

**Illona: **You sure are ready for this…

**Magnolia: **I can’t wait to see the look on their faces.

**Reese: **The people who live near this church are counting on us. We can’t afford to lose this fight for their sake.

**Kaeta: **We can’t let them down now.

**Falon: **I hope this goes in our favor.

**Aestlyn: **We’ll figure that out later.

**Karim:** We have a lot to do first.

**Kyle: **I know I’m ready.

**Cassia: **Hopefully, the resting time offered by the ball will have prepared us.

**Nesreen: **Lady Aisa is expecting us to come out victorious.

**Illona: **It’s time to go then.

**Nora: **There’s not a moment to lose.

**Yuliya: **We’re finished waiting around. Let’s get to it.

**Magnolia: **The Blue Lions will be victorious!

_The students walk away. Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **I highly doubt it, but I wonder if we’ll find out more about this Crescent person we heard about last month… A girl can dream, I suppose.

_You set out for Faerghus soon after. When You arrive, You stand with the Blue Lions near the church._

**Magnolia: **Here we are.

**Falon: **I expected a church so close to Fhirdiad to be much larger.

**Illona: **Maybe it seems bigger on the inside…?

**Nora: **Regardless, we should get in there.

**Kaeta: **We should head in there and warn the people inside.

**Reese: **First, we should set up a perimeter around the building.

**Aestlyn: **Malice won’t ever be able to breach our defenses.

**Karim: **They can try all they want, but they won’t succeed.

**Nesreen: **Should a few of us go inside to warn them while the others get ready?

**Kyle: **Magnolia, Professor, you should go do it.

**Cassia: **We have everything under control here.

**Yuliya: **Get in there, you two. No time to waste.

_The rest of the students start to prepare for the coming battle, and You are left alone with Magnolia._

**Magnolia: **They’ve made up their minds… Come on. We don’t have much time, so we need to act fast.

_You nod and head into the church alongside Magnolia. Once inside, You look around and see pews lining the area. A single woman kneels at the front of the room, praying before a statue of Saint Seiros. She is wearing all white, and her navy hair is covered by a veil. Upon hearing You enter, she rises to her feet and turns to face You._

**Magnolia: **Pardon me… Are we interrupting something?

**Janae: **N-No, don’t worry at all… Is something the matter?

**Magnolia: **The Church of Seiros sent us here to fend off an oncoming attack. We came to make sure everyone here is safe.

**Janae: **How horrible… Who might you be?

**Magnolia: **My name is Magnolia. And this is…

_You speak up to introduce yourself and Magnolia to the woman._

**Janae: **I had no idea I was in the presence of the future queen! Please, forgive me…

**Magnolia:** Don’t worry yourself. I don’t mind being casual. For the time being, I want to know more about you, if that’s alright.

**Janae: **I’m Janae McCreary… I’m a priestess for this church…

**Magnolia: **It’s nice to meet you.

**Janae: **And you… I-I feel as if we have met somewhere before…

**Seraphine: **This is it… She might know something about Crescent!

_You ask where You could have met her before._

**Janae: **I… It’s a story for another time…

**Magnolia:** We can talk more after the battle ends.

**Janae: **Alright… You… You go to school with the daughter of Hendrix von Faixnoye, yes? That is what I have heard at least…

**Magnolia: **You heard correct.

**Janae: **How old is she?

**Magnolia: **Eighteen as of a few moons ago. Why do you ask?

**Janae: **Impossible…

**Magnolia: **Impossible? How so?

**Janae: **O-Oh, it’s nothing… Has she ever mentioned me?

**Magnolia: **Never. Should she have?

**Janae: **I used to… I used to work in the palace of Enbarr. I was a maid there nearly two decades ago.

**Magnolia: **I had no idea.

**Janae: **One might call me a consort of the emperor… The story is long, and I do not believe we have the time for it at the moment, but perhaps I can explain the full thing to you one day.

**Magnolia: **Somebody with relations to the emperor… I didn’t see that coming.

**Janae: **Relations is one term I would use…

**Seraphine: **Even if she supposedly has a close connection to Chris, she keeps on looking at you weirdly instead of focusing on Magnolia… Why is that?

**Janae: **You know, I never knew she existed. I was there for much of the time in which Emperor Hendrix was fathering children. He had upwards of twenty-five back in the day, but that has since changed. Just before I left, most of them died… If another child appeared while all the previous kids died, I would have been aware.

**Magnolia:**That’s strange. Chris has never told us about having a sibling. We would have known even if she tried to hide it.

**Janae: **How odd…

**Magnolia: **I do wonder though… She’s been asking more about what could have happened to her mother. Would you have any answers there?

**Janae: **That’s… Well…

_Falon enters the room._

**Falon: **Malice is almost here.

**Magnolia: **You’ll have to forgive me for leaving so soon. We have to go and end this fight. Can we continue speaking later on?

**Janae: **Of course… Good luck.

**Falon: **Our classmates are all prepared.

**Magnolia:** In that case, let’s go finish this.

**Seraphine: **Janae is looking at us again… What has her so interested? I wonder…

_You head outside with Magnolia and Falon. The Blue Lions are set up around the perimeter of the church._

**Reese: **Malice is trying to get inside.

**Aestlyn: **I see snowballs on the hills nearby… I think they’re going to try and run us over using them.

**Nora: **Using the environment… Smart.

**Karim: **It won’t be enough for them to win.

**Nesreen: **The snowballs are only going to get stronger as they roll down.

**Kaeta: **I wonder if it’s possible to slash a snowball in half with a sword.

**Illona: **I didn’t think anyone would ever ask that question.

**Yuliya: **Regardless, we’ll figure it out soon enough.

**Kyle:** They aren’t going to hold back.

**Cassia: **They must think the church has something of value.

**Falon: **They chose to attack this church deliberately, so that must be the case.

**Magnolia: **We’ll find an answer later. For now, let’s fight!

_The battle begins. Your forces are positioned in a circle around the edge of the church. The battle will be lost if any enemies breach the church’s entrance. You fight with the Blue Lions to keep Malice at bay. You are seeing their improvement already, and You have to admit that You are impressed. The enemy occasionally rolls snowballs down from the higher hills surrounding the church, though they break on impact when hitting one of your fighters. The leader of the enemy troops, Nathan, shows himself soon enough._

_If You initiate combat with Nathan, this dialogue plays out._

**Nathan: **I don’t know who you think you are, but you won’t be getting in our way of finding that sword. Now, step aside before I’m forced to end your life!

_If Magnolia initiates combat with Nathan, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia:** I don’t know what you want here, but you won’t be getting it.

**Nathan: **If you think you can defeat us, you are sorely mistaken.

**Magnolia: **You sure are confident.

**Nathan: **I’m sick of talking. Time to die!

_If anyone else initiates combat with Nathan, this dialogue plays out._

**Nathan: **Get out of my way before I’m forced to strike you down.

_When Nathan is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Nathan: **Damn it… Don’t think this is the last you’ve seen of us…

_After the battle, You stand with the Blue Lions outside the church._

**Reese: **They’re gone…

**Illona: **Let’s try and figure out what they wanted.

**Nora: **Let’s ask the locals about it.

**Kyle: **If anyone has our answers, it would be them.

**Nesreen: **Not even I heard about what secrets this place could hold.

**Yuliya: **We have a lot of people to question.

**Cassia:** There’s not a moment to lose.

**Falon: **I’m just relieved we were able to save everyone.

**Aestlyn: **I would have ever been able to forgive myself if they got hurt.

**Karim: **Let’s check the area one more time to make sure they’re all safe.

**Kaeta: **Let’s get to it then.

**Magnolia: **I’ll catch up with you in a little bit. I have some other business to attend to first.

_Magnolia walks away as Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **She’s going to talk to Janae again… I want to ask her what’s going on as well. Let’s go after her.

_You follow Magnolia into the main area of the church where Janae is standing._

**Janae: **I’m relieved the goddess granted you both safety.

**Magnolia: **We should pick up where we left off. What were we discussing before?

**Janae: **You… You asked me about your friend’s mother.

**Magnolia:** That’s right. Do you know anything?

**Janae: **I’m afraid not… My child was near the middle as far as ages ago. I stopped keeping up with Emperor Hendrix’s affairs soon after they were born.

**Magnolia: **What happened to your child?

**Janae: **They… They were stolen away from me from a young age. Once upon a time, they were declared as the heir to the Faixnoye line, but that changed when they were nine. Soon after, they disappeared. I… I believe they died in an unknown incident, but no body was ever found.

**Magnolia: **That’s horrible…!

**Janae: **Emperor Hendrix took particular interest in them when they were young. I didn’t get to see them much, and when I did, it didn’t last long. When Emperor Hendrix declared he had found a new heir, they disappeared. Many say they passed away, though I’ve become less sure that is the case as of late.

**Magnolia: **How old would they be now? I can help you find them.

**Janae: **Twenty-two as of the most recent Wyvern Moon… I still celebrate their birthday with each passing year, though I doubt they will ever return to me.

**Magnolia:** I’ll do all I can to help you search. Do you want that?

**Janae: **I… If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, yes…

**Magnolia: **I’ll do everything in my power to aid you.

**Janae: **Thank you… Professor, I would like to speak with you more at some point. Is that alright?

_You nod._

**Janae: **I thank you for your kindness… We have much to discuss. If possible, I would like to accompany you back to the monastery. I have no family tying me here, and I believe I would be a better fit for Garreg Mach Monastery. Is that okay with you?

_You tell her it would be lovely._

**Janae: **How kind… You were raised well…

_Falon pokes her head into the room._

**Falon: **We found what the church was hiding!

_You follow Falon with Magnolia at your side. You head deeper into the building where another woman is standing. She bears an uncanny resemblance to Herwig, and a sword is in her hands. The hilt is a platinum green, and the blade itself is silvery and curves back and forth._

**Reese: **Professor, Magnolia… You’re back. I have someone to introduce to you. This is Herwig’s sister, Erika. She’s been staying in this church for the past few months.

**Erika: **It’s a pleasure to meet you.

**Illona: **We asked her about something Malice might want, and she figured it out rather quickly.

**Erika: **This blade is known as Sirius… At least, that is what we have named it. It was unearthed many years ago by the church.

**Nesreen: **The monastery suffered from invasions as many fighters tried to break in and steal it.

**Yuliya: **It was moved here for safekeeping after a while.

**Kyle: **That was to prevent theft, if I had to guess.

**Cassia:** Despite these efforts, Malice figured out it was here and came after it.

**Nora: **If we leave it behind, Malice might return for it.

**Aestlyn: **We should take it back to Garreg Mach.

**Erika: **I was thinking that as well. I believe Garreg Mach Monastery while be able to defend it from here on out.

**Karim: **The sword is incredible… Someone should put it to use.

**Falon: **Let’s give it to someone then!

**Magnolia: **How about you, Professor?

_You respond with shock._

**Kaeta: **You’ve done so much for us up to this point. Plus, your skills with a sword are pretty impressive. I think it would be a good match.

**Reese: **We can double check with Lady Aisa when we return.

**Nesreen: **We have a lot to tell her when we get back.

**Falon: **The people who lived here… It’s too dangerous for them now.

**Cassia: **Malice could come back for them in pursuit of Sirius.

**Kyle:** This area’s residents will have to depart to find safety.

**Illona: **Garreg Mach should accept them as refugees…

**Erika: **I will be joining you back to the monastery. It… It will be safer there.

**Kaeta: **Great. We should head out before Malice comes back.

**Nora: **Have we evacuated everyone?

**Yuliya: **I took care of it already.

**Aestlyn: **Then let’s get out of here.

**Karim: **I’m with Aestlyn on that one.

**Magnolia: **A lot is waiting for us back there.

_You start to walk away from the area, still holding onto Sirius. Janae and Erika walk past You, though Janae’s gaze lingers for a while as she passes You. Seraphine appears as You continue to watch the sword intently._

**Seraphine: **I can sense great power coming from this blade… Something deep within me wants to feel how it works in battle. Can you sense that as well? My heart feels oddly full…

_You nod your agreement, and You swing Sirius through the air when You are sure nobody will be hit by it. Gentle golden light chases after the sword, and You stare in surprise. This power is clearly not of this world._

**Seraphine: **Incredible… Perhaps Lady Aisa will know what it means… We’ll have to ask her about it as soon as we can.

_You nod and continue with your long journey back to the monastery, wondering what power Sirius could hold all the way there…_

_When You arrive, You immediately go to the audience chamber to visit Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **Professor, it’s good to see you.

**Roy: **I take it your mission went well?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I’m glad…

**Roy: **I made accomodations ahead of time for the people living in the church. Their home is a location of note for Malice now, and they will strike again if they think it will suit their ends.

**Aisa: **What is that in your hands?

_You show them Sirius and explain its tale._

**Roy: **I wasn’t even sure it was real… Nobody has brought it up in many years.

**Aisa: **Incredible… How do you feel when wielding it?

_You say that it feels oddly perfect to hold the blade._

**Roy: **How odd… There are some weapons that function better when in the hands of those with compatible Crests. Perhaps yours works with it.

**Aisa: **It must have been constructed with a Crest’s power in mind… Amazing, truly.

**Roy: **If the weapon is truly compatible with you, I believe you should be the one to hold onto it.

**Aisa: **I agree. We… We know of none with the same Crests as you. It is impossible to say if this one is activated by Unio or the Crest of Flames, and we have no ability to test it… It is yours.

_You thank them for their generosity._

**Roy: **You’re welcome.

**Aisa: **What else? Did you find anything else on the mission?

_You say that You met with Herwig’s younger sister, Erika._

**Roy: **I suspected you would… He’s been worried sick this past month thinking about her. I’m relieved to know she is safe.

_You go on to say that You stumbled upon a former consort who lived in Hendrix’s court._

**Aisa: **That is truly unexpected…

**Roy: **I thought all of his former consorts were missing.

_You ask what he means._

**Aisa: **Emperor Hendrix had a great many consorts years ago. However, that all changed roughly twelve years ago.

**Roy: **All of the consorts were driven out when an heir to the throne was found. Said heir is the sole person the emperor claims as his child.

**Aisa: **The other children disappeared or died in mysterious accidents one after another. Their mothers were exiled from Adrestia or executed for crimes against the court.

**Roy: **However, it would be unwise to ask him about this… He denies such things ever happened.

**Seraphine: **Everything happened twelve years ago… Evenor worked with the Faixnoye family until twelve years ago. Emperor Hendrix had many children and consorts until twelve years ago. I first appeared about twelve years ago. Chris was named heir to Adrestia twelve years ago. You were renamed from Crescent twelve years ago. All of these must be connected… But how?

**Aisa: **You should return to your students. They should be sent off to sleep for now.

**Roy: **Please… Avoid telling them about the previous issues with the emperor of Adrestia’s infidelity. We do not wish to cause further panic.

_You nod your understanding._

**Aisa: **Until next time, Professor.

**Roy: **Have a nice evening.

_You walk back to the classroom as Seraphine appears next to You._

**Seraphine: **I want to know more about Crescent. If all of this happened twelve years ago, we should ask somebody involved in what happened back then if they know anything. We can conduct an official investigation next time we can explore the monastery.

_You agree as You arrive at the classmate._

**Seraphine: **I just hope it doesn’t come back to bite us.

_You walk into the classroom, and Seraphine disappears._

**Reese: **We’ve finished everything… The mission is over.

**Illona: **How is Professor Wessin’s sister doing?

**Nesreen: **I gave her a room. She’ll be serving Lady Aisa here alongside the other priestess we stumbled upon.

**Falon: **Janae McCreary, I think her name is.

**Karim: **She gives me odd vibes…

**Aestlyn: **We shouldn’t discuss her behind her back.

**Nora:** Either way, we should sleep soon.

**Kaeta: **That’s the best plan I’ve ever heard.

**Kyle: **I agree fully.

**Cassia: **Before we depart, I would like to know… What are you going to do with Sirius, Professor? Are you keeping it?

_You nod._

**Magnolia: **I think it will suit you well.

**Yuliya: **Try not to lose it, alright?

**Reese: **I hope our new companions sleep well.

**Nesreen: **Ms. McCreary fell asleep as soon as I took her to her quarters… We should let her rest.

**Kyle:** This is nothing like how they used to live…

**Cassia: **We’ll have to aid them in settling down.

**Illona: **I imagine they’re exhausted after all that.

**Falon: **I think we’re all tired.

**Nora: **Speaking of, I’m going to rest.

**Yuliya: **I have to start the night shift anyways… See you later.

**Aestlyn: **Sleep well.

**Karim: **Enjoy your nights, everybody.

**Kaeta: **I’ll see you around.

**Magnolia: **Until we meet again, Professor.

_Everyone leaves the classroom. You watch them go before heading to your room. Seraphine appears and walks next to You._

**Seraphine: **If you ask me, people who were involved with Adrestia’s government twelve years ago should be our first people to ask. Perhaps Chris would know something… Same with the other house leaders. Lady Aisa and Cordelia might know as well.

_You nod as You sit on your bed._

**Seraphine: **I don’t know what our next mission is, but right now, I don’t really care. I want to know more about Crescent… Plus, Sirius is at our side… I’m sure it will do something to guide us to the truth. I pray it does.

_You agree with her._

**Seraphine: **All of that investigating can wait though… I’m exhausted. Goodnight. Sleep tight.

_You lay down as Seraphine disappears. It does not take You long to fall asleep, but your dreams are plagued by thoughts of Crescent, Sirius, and Janae. Who could have given You the name Crescent? How is Sirius connected to You? Why does Janae hold such curiosity regarding You? However, no answers come to You in your sleep, and You let yourself rest, knowing a lengthy and trying investigation awaits You the next time You open your eyes… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This makes for 60/80 chapters posted of the main story (ignoring character profiles from the very start)
> 
> We're 75% of the way through part one guys I can't believe this
> 
> -Digital


	62. Chapter Ten: Artificial Strength I (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You learn of your mission to find out more about the mysterious mages who kidnapped Florence and Herwig.

_On the first day of the Guardian Moon, You wake up and start to make your way to the audience chamber. Seraphine appears and walks with You._

**Seraphine: **Maybe we should start asking around about Crescent… The best person to ask would be Evenor, but we don’t exactly have access to her at the moment. Maybe we could see about Rhian as well… I somehow doubt anybody here would know about either of them, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to see.

_You nod your agreement as You arrive at your destination. Seraphine disappears as You approach Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **Good morning, Professor. How are you doing on this fine morning?

_You say that You are doing well._

**Aisa: **I’m glad to hear it…

**Roy: **This month, your mission will be to find out more about the mages who kidnapped Florence and Herwig a few months ago.

**Aisa: **I’m afraid we didn’t know anything more about them, so we didn’t have anyone go after them, but the time has come.

**Roy: **You will be heading deep into Adrestia to a hideout they have underground.

**Aisa: **We don’t know much else about them…

**Roy: **They are clearly involved with Malice, but we don’t know why they took Florence.

**Aisa: **Even if they were interested in her Crest, we don’t know what happened while she was their captive.

**Roy: **She doesn’t remember much of anything from that time.

**Aisa: **Your mission will be to find out what their motives are.

**Roy: **We would like to know who is leading them as well, though this may prove to be difficult to find out.

**Aisa: **Regardless, the time has come for you to make your decision about which house you wish to follow for the month.

**Roy: **Which one will it be?

_You think about it for a moment before settling with the Blue Lions._

**Aisa: **Are you sure this is the choice you wish to make?

_You nod._

**Roy: **You should go and talk to them at this time.

**Aisa: **We will be eagerly awaiting the information you uncover after the mission.

**Roy: **Until then, have a nice day.

_You nod and leave the audience chamber._

**Seraphine: **Hm… The mages who took Florence… I think there was one more weird thing about them. Each one of them had a random Crest they realistically could not have had access to. That must be why they’re sending us out. They want to know where all of these random Crests came from. Either way, that can wait. I want to know more about Crescent for now. Let’s start asking around as soon as we finish talking to the kids.

_You nod your agreement as You enter the Blue Lions homeroom._

**Reese: **Good morning, Professor…

**Magnolia: **What’s the plan for the month? Do we have our mission?

_You explain the month’s mission to the students._

**Illona: **The mysterious mages…

**Kyle: **I suppose it does make sense that we would want to know more about them…

**Aestlyn: **There are a lot of unanswered questions at this point… I suppose this is a good place to start.

**Nora: **It’s not like we’re going to be able to go and find Bazler, so we might as well take care of this.

**Karim: **I can’t help but wonder about them as well…

**Cassia: **They had Crests… Where could those Crests have come from?

**Falon: **I’m not sure, but I intend to find out this month.

**Nora: **It couldn’t have been through natural means.

**Aestlyn: **But how could someone get a Crest unnaturally?

**Karim: **As far as I know, it isn’t possible to just give somebody a Crest.

**Kyle: **If it was, that would be the scientific breakthrough of the century.

**Reese: **I don’t even want to imagine the chaos that would unleash.

**Cassia: **If it is possible to get a Crest unnaturally, this could cause all kinds of chaos.

**Falon: **A lot of people could claim to be nobles when they weren’t born that way if they have a Crest.

**Illona: **That’s… That’s ridiculous!

**Magnolia: **Crests are seen as so valuable that it would be a viable strategy to gain more power.

**Reese: **I really don’t like the idea of that.

**Aestlyn: **I don’t want to think about it right now.

**Nora: **Luckily, we don’t really have to.

**Karim: **There’s still a month left until we go out to take care of that business.

**Cassia: **Until then, we have a lot of preparing to do.

**Kyle: **I agree. We don’t know what’s waiting for us out there.

**Falon: **Whatever they try to pull, we’ll be ready.

**Illona: **Yeah… We’ll be fine!

**Aestlyn: **We don’t know if we’ll be dealing with Crests or not…

**Reese: **We’ll have to train like we will. No slacking off.

**Nora: **If I catch any of you not paying attention, I swear to the goddess…

**Kyle: **Eep-! Guess I’ll just have to get ready.

**Karim: **Until that time comes, let’s try to relax.

**Falon: **It won’t do us any good to stress ourselves out.

**Cassia: **You make a valid point.

**Illona: **Are we done here?

**Magnolia: **I believe so… I’ll see everyone later.

_The students all leave the classroom as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Is it just me, or was Illona acting weird? I mean, weirder than usual. She’s always been a bit strange, but this is a new level for her.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **We’ll have to ask her about it a bit later on.

_You promise to do so as Seraphine vanishes. Soon after, You begin to look around the monastery. You first run into Cassia speaking with Nora in the Officers Academy courtyard._

**Cassia: **I wonder what those mages are capable of… If they can truly give anyone a Crest, the tide of our continent’s political system will change forever.

**Nora: **It wouldn’t be good for the nobles… But if Crests become more common, they won’t be as special.

**Cassia: **Nobility will no longer be established based on Crests…

**Nora: **I could get behind that kind of world, if you want the truth.

**Cassia: **I understand that concept fully…

**Nora: **It wouldn’t be so bad.

_Next, You see Zelhira talking to Hegias in the Black Eagles classroom._

**Zelhira: **Hegias, are you sure you’re alright? You’ve been acting shifty all day.

**Hegias: **I’ve just been thinking about what the mission is for the month.

**Zelhira: **What about it bothers you so much?

**Hegias: **I don’t want to talk about it… Is that okay?

**Zelhira: **If you really don’t want to discuss it, I won’t press you… Just know that I’m watching you.

**Hegias: **Understood…

_Finally, You encounter Raithius and Novalee in the Officers Academy courtyard. You ask them about Crescent._

**Raithius: **Crescent? You want to know more about a person named Crescent?

**Novalee: **I’m afraid I don’t know anyone who goes by that name…

**Raithius: **Well, I at least don’t know anyone who uses it commonly.

**Novalee: **What do you mean?

**Raithius: **Perhaps you should consider Crescent as a name someone doesn’t use…

**Novalee: **I see… Good luck in your search, Professor.

_You head to the training hall next. Once there, You see Wynne, Kaeta, and Piers talking._

**Wynne: **Lady Aisa has been getting awfully tense lately… Surely you guys have noticed it.

**Kaeta: **I have… It’s weird. She hasn’t been this stressed out ever before.

**Piers: **Even when she does get stressed, she masks it well, but that isn’t the case now… It’s worrying.

**Wynne: **What could it mean?

**Piers: **She thinks something is coming…

**Kaeta: **And it has to be something big.

_After finishing in the training hall, You move to the bottom floor of dorms. You see Aquillus and Florence talking to each other._

**Aquillus: **You really don’t remember anything from when you were taken in by the mages?

**Florence: **Not really. If I knew what they were up to, I would have brought it up already.

**Aquillus: **Everything that happened after you were taken is a blur…

**Florence: **Yeah… I wish I could help everyone out more.

**Aquillus: **I’m just glad you’re safe.

**Florence: **Thanks, Aquillus.

_You head up to the second floor of dorms. At the end of the hallway, You see Polly standing alone. You ask her about Crescent._

**Polly: **Crescent? I do know someone with that name… But why do you ask?

_You notice her hesitating and ask about a person named Rhian._

**Polly: **…Why are you asking all of this? I’m not trying to be rude, but what are you planning?

_You say that You are planning nothing._

**Polly: **Suspicious… Whatever you say…

**Seraphine: **She has to know something… But she isn’t saying what it is…

_You ask about Crescent again._

**Polly: **Go and ask Chris about it. See if she wants to talk.

_You nod and walk away. You go back downstairs and head to the greenhouse. Inside, You see Aestlyn and Kyle talking._

**Aestlyn: **The ball last month was such fun… I wish it was still going on.

**Kyle: **You danced beautifully at the festival, Aestlyn.

**Aestlyn: **Thank you, Kyle… You weren’t too bad yourself.

**Kyle: **Perhaps we should meet up and show off our dancing skills once again.

**Aestlyn: **I would love that.

**Kyle: **Yes! Sweet!

_You leave the greenhouse and head to the fishing hole. Standing at the edge of the dock is Karim, who is talking with Illona._

**Karim: **Illona, are you sure you’re alright? You’re acting so oddly.

**Illona: **I’m fine! Just peachy!

**Karim: **If you were really okay, I don’t think you would be saying things like ‘peachy’.

**Illona: **Well… Maybe I just like to say peachy!

**Karim: **Okay… Alright. Sure.

**Illona: **Will you leave me alone now?

**Karim: **Ugh… Fine…

_You go to the marketplace next. Callisto and Tuncay are talking there._

**Callisto: **This decorative sword looks amazing…

**Tuncay: **Callus, you sure are in love with that thing…

**Callisto: **Callus?

**Tuncay: **What?

**Callisto: **Oh, nothing… What’s my name?

**Tuncay: **Callus.

**Callisto: **This is hopeless… Yikes.

_You go north to the entrance hall. Inside, You encounter Sofia speaking with Adeline and Wolfgang._

**Sofia: **You know, you both did very well at the ball last month.

**Adeline: **Really?

**Sofia: **Of course! Your dancing was incredible, Adeline.

**Wolfgang: **I enjoyed our brief dance as well, Sofia.

**Sofia: **What can I say? I know how to make the ladies happy.

**Adeline: **You’re so smooth… I’m impressed.

**Wolfgang: **You’re awesome, Sofia.

**Sofia: **Aw… Thanks, you two.

_Further into the entrance hall, You see Adrian and approach him._

**Adrian: **Professor, guess what? I’m going to be joining you from here on out! Lady Aisa told me to join you in your mission this month, and I’m going to be sticking around with you after it’s over too.

_You say You are happy to have him join You._

**Adrian: **Thanks, Professor. I won’t be letting you down!

_You go into the reception hall next, and You see Miriam talking to Rodain there._

**Rodain: **You sure are looking lovely today, Miriam.

**Miriam: **Do you really insist on going through these motions every time we meet eyes?

**Rodain: **I enjoy telling women how much I appreciate them is all.

**Miriam: **In other words, you’re hopeless.

**Rodain: **That’s not how I would put it… Just flirtatious.

**Miriam: **Of course that’s how you would say it…

_You move to the knights’ hall, where You see Yuliya speaking with Cordelia._

**Cordelia: **Yuliya, are you alright? You’ve been getting more and more exhausted over time.

**Yuliya: **I’ve been doing night shift at least three times a week for ages.

**Cordelia: **Who’s been assigning you to do that?

**Yuliya: **I thought it was you.

**Cordelia: **No, not at all… Must be your faction’s commander. I’ll take care of it.

**Yuliya: **Huh… That went a lot better than I expected.

_Next, You go to the stables. Once there, You encounter Magnolia and Falon. You ask them about Crescent._

**Magnolia: **Crescent? I’m afraid I haven’t heard anything about them… Sorry to disappoint, Professor.

**Falon: **I don’t know anything about a person with that name either.

**Magnolia: **Is anything else on your mind?

_You ask about Rhian next._

**Falon: **Rhian… Hm. I don’t know anybody by that name either.

**Magnolia: **I hope you find out what you’re looking for soon enough.

**Falon: **Good luck, Professor!

_You make your way to the cathedral next. You see Chris standing alone on the bridge there. You ask her about Crescent._

**Chris: **Ah… I actually do know someone with that name…

_You ask who it is._

**Chris: **Um… Me. That’s my full name. I haven’t gone by it in over twelve years, but that’s what official records say at the palace. My father is the only one to use it, but he stopped at the request of another.

**Seraphine: **No way…! Ask if she knows about Rhian!

_You ask about Rhian next._

**Chris: **Hm… No, I don’t know anything about someone by that name. Sorry to disappoint you, Professor.

**Seraphine: **I guess it was just a coincidence… That stinks… Back to square one for us.

_Inside the cathedral, You encounter William, Lev, and Cedric, who are all standing together._

**William: **The school year is getting close to its end…

**Lev: **Two moons from now, we’ll be preparing for graduation… After this moon’s mission, we’ll only have one mission left.

**Cedric: **Time sure does pass quickly… So much has changed since we began our studies here.

**Lev: **I’m going to miss everyone after we split up…

**Cedric: **We’ll all just have to stay in touch.

**William: **I know I’ll never forget our time here.. I’ll hold these memories dearly forever.

_You encounter Erika inside the cathedral._

**Erika: **Professor… Herwig has already told me much about you. I am impressed you have a connection to Sirius. I hope you are using it well.

_You nod._

**Erika: **This church is so different from what I am used to… I hope it gets better soon…

_You offer to help her if she needs anything._

**Erika: **Thank you for the offer, Professor.

_You walk up to Janae, who is also in the cathedral._

**Janae: **We have much to discuss, Professor… I’m unsure as to if we can discuss it now though. I will speak to you later…

_You nod and ask her if she knows anything about Crescent._

**Janae: **I… I do… Crescent is what I once named my child… Unfortunately, it is widely believed they died. If you think Crescent holds the answers you seek, you would be mistaken.

_You ask about Rhian next._

**Janae: **I know little of one named Rhian… But I heard whispers from a few Adrestian priestesses after leaving Emperor Hendrix’s court. Rhian was the name of a daughter of Lord Thaddeus Bazler… Unfortunately, she is suspected to have been killed in a horrible incident alongside her mother. I pray this information helps.

_You thank her for the help. You move to the second floor. You see Reese and Jill conversing soon after You arrive there._

**Reese: **This year has gone by in the blink of an eye…

**Jill: **So much more has happened this year compared to years past.

**Reese: **Instead of defeating bandits, we have actual enemies to deal with.

**Jill: **It’s unfortunate… I hope nothing happens for the rest of the year.

**Reese: **Me too… Though I somehow doubt we’ll be that lucky.

**Jill: **As much as I hate to admit it, you’re likely right…

_You head to the commons room, and inside, You run into Herwig and Nesreen._

**Herwig: **How have you been adjusting since settling in as a part-time student?

**Nesreen: **It’s a lot less troublesome than I would have expected.

**Herwig: **I’m willing to take that as a win.

**Nesreen: **How about your sister? Is she settling in well?

**Herwig: **It… It will take time, but I’m sure she’ll be alright.

**Nesreen: **That’s a good thing, I suppose…

_You leave the commons room to go to the library, where You encounter Niko and Derric._

**Niko: **Derric, why are you so pale?

**Derric: **Mother and Father have stopped sending letters to me.

**Niko: **What’s so odd about that? They don’t care for one son, so maybe they’ve finally given up on being good parents.

**Derric: **They’ve been exchanging letters with me about life ever since I moved here… For them to stop like this is unnatural.

**Niko: **Hm… How odd…

**Derric: **I wonder what’s going on with them…

_Finally, You move to the audience chamber to speak with Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **Janae McCreary… She’s been settling in rather well since coming here.

**Roy: **However, she seems to be on edge at times…

**Aisa: **I have noticed that as well. Perhaps that is a side effect of living in Emperor Hendrix’s court.

**Roy: **That is far from a pleasant place to be… I hope she starts to feel better soon.

**Aisa: **I feel the same…

_You leave the audience chamber to head back to your room after finishing your exploration. You sit down on your bed upon arriving as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Crescent refers to two different people, it seems… It’s the full name of Chris, who is the leader of the Black Eagles and future leader of Adrestia. It’s also the first name of Janae’s child, who is suspected to have died a long time ago… Janae was a consort of Emperor Hendrix. It’s odd that two children with the same father would have the same name. Even if the mothers of the children remained separated, it’s odd that they would share a name if they were different people in the same proximity.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **Honestly, I would propose that Chris is her daughter, but that has a few problems… For one, there’s about a four year age gap in between Chris and Janae’s child. Even if Janae’s child is still alive, those four years can’t be ignored. It’s odd that Janae’s child died around the same time that Chris was announced as heir to the throne though… It seems fishy. It’s like one person picked up where the other one left off…

_You point out Janae’s odd behavior from the moon before._

**Seraphine: **That’s the other problem I was thinking about. Janae said it was impossible that Chris was eighteen… There’s so many things that don’t add up here. We’re close to finding out the truth, but it’s barely out of reach… I bet the Crescent in question refers to Janae’s child in this case. Chris hasn’t gone by that name in over twelve years. She told us that herself. Even so, perhaps it is her… The timeline might add up… I don’t know! Everything is just weird!

_You give Seraphine a moment to calm down._

**Seraphine: **After that, there’s Rhian… She was a daughter of Thaddeus Bazler. However, she is suspected to have died in a murder case… Tracking anything about her is going to be difficult. She could have been on Bazler’s estate, but how do we know for sure? Besides, if she died a long time ago, nobody would bother keeping records about her. Even what Janae told us seemed unreliable since it was all based around rumors… I wish we knew more about both Rhian and Crescent, but I somehow doubt we’ll be finding out more.

_You frown and admit that she has likely right._

**Seraphine: **We can go over what we have now as many times as we want, but I don’t think it will help us out. Until we can get another piece of the puzzle, we aren’t going to be finding out anything else… Let’s get to bed. The longer I think about this, the greater my headache gets… I don’t even know if spirits can get headaches, but I feel like if I could get one, it would be like this.

_You agree with Seraphine and lay down. Seraphine disappears into thin air. It takes You a while to fall asleep, focusing on what everything You have learned could mean. Crescent and Rhian drift in and out of your consciousness, but You do not know what either of them could mean in the grand scheme of things. However, You lack the information needed to find the answers You seek, so You let sleep claim You. However, your slumber is restless, and You long to know more than the world has provided You… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First Alternative update since I've been locked in my house. Woop woop. 
> 
> Also, I've started doing paralogues and B supports! That's pretty neat. Be sure to check out those books if you want more information on them.
> 
> -Digital


	63. Chapter Ten: Artificial Strength II (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Blue Lions set out for your mission, meeting some peculiar figures when You arrive.

_The day of the mission, You wake up and see Seraphine beside You._

**Seraphine: **I have a bad feeling about all of this… I don’t know how to describe it. Be sure to bring Sirius along today, alright? I don’t want to lose because we don’t have it.

_You take Seraphine’s advice and grab Sirius from its place against the wall. You know it is odd for Seraphine to be so uncomfortable, so You decide to take her words to heart. She disappears as You sheath the blade and place it at your hip. You walk to the Blue Lions classroom as soon as You are finished. Inside, You see the students alongside Reese, Kaeta, Nesreen, Yuliya, and Adrian._

**Reese: **The day has come… We’re off to find out more about the odd mages.

**Aestlyn: **I want to know who they all are and why they have Crests.

**Cassia: **Whatever their explanation is, we will hear it today.

**Nesreen: **Lady Aisa wants as much information as we can gather.

**Falon: **We’re going to show them who the real bosses are for sure!

**Kyle: **I refuse to let them get away with this.

**Karim: **The Church of Seiros will take care of them even if we aren’t able to. It’s a win either way.

**Illona: **I don’t like this at all…

**Magnolia: **It’s alright, Illona. I’ll make sure everything is okay. You’ll be fine.

**Nora: **Should we set off?

**Kaeta: **I don’t see a reason not to.

**Yuliya: **Welcome to the hell hole, Adrian.

**Adrian: **I’m sure I’ll have fun here.

**Reese: **Is everyone prepared for the coming battle?

**Falon: **I think so.

**Aestlyn: **We don’t know for sure what we’re dealing with…

**Kyle: **For all we know, they could have Crests at their disposal.

**Karim: **We’ll get an answer about how that’s the case if they do.

**Cassia: **The church won’t be letting them escape this time. No lives are on the line.

**Illona: **You guys are so confident… I’m just worried…

**Nora: **It just takes some faith. You’ll be fine.

**Magnolia: **Well… Why are we still standing around here?

**Yuliya: **Probably because you kids wanted to talk for a little while longer.

**Nesreen: **Let’s stop that then.

**Kaeta: **Of course!

**Adrian: **I’m happy to lend my aid to you for the time being.

**Magnolia: **If all that’s been settled, it’s time to go.

_You nod and watch as the group leaves the room. You take up the tail end of the party, though You pause when You hear a voice behind You._

**Janae: **W-Wait!

_You turn around to face her._

**Janae: **I… I would like to come with you. I fear we will be unable to speak unless we are both free of the monastery, and now is the best time… May I accompany you on your mission?

**Seraphine: **If this will get us some answers, of course. I want to know what’s going on.

_You nod to Janae._

**Janae: **Thank you, Professor… I can heal you and your students should the need arise. I won’t let you down.

_You thank her for the offer as she scurries away to walk with the rest of the group._

**Seraphine: **After this fight ends, we’ll actually get some answers… All the more reason to get this over with as soon as possible.

_You nod your agreement and follow the rest of the group out of Garreg Mach._

_You arrive in Adrestia a few hours later. Your group stands in a barren outdoor space._

**Reese: **The church told us this is the spot… But I don’t see anything.

**Falon: **Remember last time? The mages were hiding underground.

**Aestlyn: **All we need to do is find the switch to open up a passage.

**Cassia: **I don’t even want to ask about how they managed to set up such a complex system…

**Karim: **This tree looks out of place… Ah!

_A switch is hit on the tree, and a door opens from the yellow grass below._

**Kyle: **Well, we found the switch.

**Nora: **I want to know who did this… I haven’t ever seen something like this before.

**Illona: **It seems pretty advanced…

**Magnolia: **We’ll hopefully find an answer to those questions soon.

**Nesreen: **Get in, everyone. We have to see what’s going on.

**Yuliya: **Those mages aren’t going to wait for us long.

**Adrian: **We should be ready for an ambush.

**Kaeta: **If they try anything, we’ll take care of them.

**Janae: **Be careful, everyone… I don’t want you to get hurt.

_You watch as the rest of the group files down the stairs into the depths of the passageway. You follow them as Seraphine speaks to You._

**Seraphine: **My bad feeling is only getting worse… Be careful down there, alright?

_You agree to stay safe as You follow your party underground. The group is silent as everyone walks through the passage. However, the path soon widens out to show a much larger space. It consists of a large room filled with many soldiers. Each one is wearing ragged clothes and appears to be suffering by merely standing still. Clumps of hair are on the ground, and splatters of blood paint the floor. Many of the fighters have bright white hair. The soldiers do not appear to have been washed in weeks, perhaps months. The sight brings You shock._

**Reese: **What the hell is this?

**Aestlyn: **They all look so horribly sick…

**Kyle: **But this is supposed to be where the mages are.

**Karim: **Are these the fighters we’re meant to be dealing with?

**Kaeta: **I wish I could give you an answer…

**Nora: **Someone must have brought them here, but… Who?

**Cassia: **I wonder if that person is the target we seek.

**Magnolia: **I’m certainly looking forward to giving them a piece of my mind.

**Yuliya: **This is inhumane…

**Adrian: **What could have happened to them? I doubt this happened naturally.

**Falon: **Whoever did this is certainly going to suffer.

**Nesreen: **I never would have expected this.

**Janae: **We need to heal them immediately…

**Illona: **Look…! There’s someone coming!

_A pair of figures come into view soon after Illona speaks. One of them is a taller man with lavender hair. He has a similar appearance to Illona. His clothing is much nicer than everyone else’s, and it is clear he has more than enough money to spare. Illona goes to the back of the group upon seeing him. The second person is much more familiar, and You recognize her as soon as she appears: Evenor Hepius._

**Man: **I thought you said we were meant to be alone.

**Evenor: **I assumed we would be… But it seems the Church of Seiros is nosier than we thought.

**Janae: **Y-You…!

_If the Blue Lions were followed during Chapter Two: The Wandering Scholar, this dialogue plays out._

**Reese: **Ms. Hepius… What are you doing here?

**Falon: **She can’t really be involved with this… Right?

**Aestlyn: **I thought she was our ally.

**Kyle: **It seems she deceived us…

**Illona: **Goddess…

**Magnolia: **What’s going on here…?!

**Cassia: **She was never on our side.

**Nora: **Devious…

**Karim: **I want answers! Now!

_If the Blue Lions were not followed during Chapter Two: The Wandering Scholar, this dialogue plays out._

**Janae: **It has been years since I saw you, Evenor… Not long enough.

**Reese: **Evenor… As in Evenor Hepius?

**Falon: **That seems to be the case…

**Aestlyn: **I thought she was our ally.

**Kyle: **It seems she deceived us…

**Illona: **Goddess…

**Magnolia: **What’s going on here…?!

**Cassia: **She was never on our side.

**Nora: **Devious…

**Karim: **I want answers! Now!

_Both sides of dialogue merge here._

**Janae: **You fiend! Do your crimes ever cease?!

**Evenor: **I didn’t expect to see you here of all places, Janae… I thought you never wanted to step underground ever again.

**Janae: **Because of you and what you did all those years ago!

**Seraphine: **What is she talking about…?!

**Reese: **Explain. Now.

**Janae: **When she worked at the palace in Enbarr, she experimented on the children of the emperor! He wanted a child with a Crest so badly that he sent them off to be used as playthings for her human experimentation! Crescent… I don’t know what you did with them, but I swear to the Goddess Sothis herself--

**Magnolia: **Calm yourself! We do not wish to engage them if we can avoid it!

**Falon: **These people here… What did you do to them?!

**Evenor: **I did what I had to. They needed Crests by order of the emperor of Adrestia. I may have failed twelve years ago, but I refused to back down.

**Kyle: **Be specific, damn it!

**Man: **I’ll leave this in your capable hands, Evenor.

_The man disappears in a puff of dark magic._

**Illona: **This can’t be happening…!

**Karim: **Give us answers already!

**Evenor: **The emperor of Adrestia wanted a child with a Crest. Unfortunately, none of them happened to have one by birth. His desperation grew, and he asked me to indulge in other methods… Granted, they weren’t uncommon even before his rule.

**Aestlyn: **You’ve been experimenting on people for all this time…?!

**Nora: **You’re a monster… The lowest breed of human.

**Janae: **You likely killed my child! Crescent was ripped from my arms because of you! Tell me… What did you do to them?!

**Evenor: **The Crescent you know died long ago beneath the palace of Adrestia.

**Janae: **I… No…

**Cassia: **It was the experimentation… It killed your child and caused countless others to be driven mad.

**Seraphine: **Why would Evenor do all of this? This was before she took you in, but… It’s insane!

**Nesreen: **Nothing can make up for the sins you have committed… You are a monster.

**Evenor: **Results matter above all else… If they aren’t strong enough to endure, so be it.

**Kaeta: **I can’t believe you can be so casual about killing people!

**Yuliya: **I’ll have to carve your heart from your chest myself…

**Adrian: **I’ve had enough of standing around…! Let’s end this already!

**Evenor: **Perhaps the time has come… Fallen children of the emperor! Rise!

_The soldiers in the room all stand to attention._

**Evenor: **I gave you Crests so that you may be valued. Your recovery may not be complete, but I order you to defend me!

**Seraphine: **Wait… Remember how we learned there were a bunch of children born of the emperor years ago? These must be all those kids! They were presumed dead, but they were stolen away by Evenor to be experimented on… Even if she was watching after for years, she could have had that man watching over them! And… Some of them died in the process… If Evenor took an interest in you, does this mean you are an experiment of the Empire as well? This can’t be… I-I…

**Magnolia: **Blue Lions, unite! We will not let this monster get away with these heinous crimes!

_The battle begins. You turn your attention towards Evenor._

**Evenor: **I have had enough of this infernal skin…

_Evenor’s appearance drastically changes. Her skin grows much paler, and her hair becomes white. She appears ancient and only halfway human._

**Magnolia: **What in the world?!

**Evenor: **You shall not escape this place… Not as long as I have a say in it!

_You focus back on the fight at hand. Scattered throughout the battlefield are weakened soldiers. Their movements are unnatural, as if they have no control of their bodies. You assume this is a result of the experimentation. They have random Crests as well, though none bear the Crest of Flames or Unio. The Blue Lions defeat the enemies, taking mercy on these shattered souls to give them rest after their time in perpetual agony. You fight alongside them, using the might of Sirius to defend yourself. You remain close to Janae, who is healing your troops from the back of the group._

_If You initiate combat with Evenor, this dialogue plays out._

**Evenor: **You were the one person I didn’t wish to fight… You must forgive me for this, Rion… Please, join me… You do not wish to? I… I apologize for what I must do.

_If Magnolia initiates combat with Evenor, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **Where did you get all of these people from?

**Evenor: **Descendants of the Faixnoye family… There are countless people like that, you know.

**Magnolia: **What?

**Evenor: **Before Crest experimentation rose, having more children to find one with a Crest was common… But those who didn’t have one were exiled. Those children made families, and when I told them the truth, they wanted what they should have had from birth.

**Magnolia: **You manipulated them into joining you!

**Evenor: **Perhaps… However, that is a debate for another day. For now, it’s time for you to meet your final resting place, Princess of Faerghus!

_If Illona initiates combat with Evenor, this dialogue plays out._

**Evenor: **I heard much about you… Illona.

**Illona: **…

**Evenor: **Drake has been quite helpful to me, you know… He learned everything he knows from me. I am why you were able to get a Crest in the first place.

**Illona: **I…

**Evenor: **However, I would be happy to provide him with a replacement should the need arise… For now, goodbye.

_If Adrian initiates combat with Evenor, this dialogue plays out._

**Adrian: **You… You are a monster.

**Evenor: **So I have heard.

**Adrian: **What gives you the right to kidnap people, imprison them, and use them as test subjects for your sick experiments?!

**Evenor: **If people want Crests, I am happy to provide… I am a top Crest scholar on this continent. I can give anyone a Crest with minimal side effects.

**Adrian: **At what cost?!

**Evenor: **That is none of my concern, nor should it be any of yours.

**Adrian: **Enough talking! Let’s finish this!

_If anyone else initiates combat with Evenor, this dialogue plays out._

**Evenor: **You will pay for trespassing into my testing space.

_If You defeat Evenor, this dialogue plays out._

**Evenor: **Rion… You should be with me, not against me…

_When Evenor is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Evenor: **Do not think this is a victory for you…

_After the battle, You stand with your forces around Evenor._

**Magnolia: **It’s over. Surrender or die.

**Evenor: **I think not.

**Janae: **You… I can’t believe you are still causing so many issues to this world! How many have you killed in your quest of ‘results’?!

**Evenor: **That numbers matters not.

**Janae: **That number means everything… Since my child was one of them!

_Janae grabs a discarded sword from the ground, dashing towards Evenor. Evenor ducks underneath her slash before showing a dagger and swiftly stabbing Janae in the abdomen. Janae gasps in shock before collapsing to the ground._

**Evenor: **I’m finished with you… All of you.

_Evenor summons a fireball and throws it onto the ground, causing a violent fire to break down, fueled by the numerous papers on the floor._

**Karim: **She’s going to try and burn us alive!

**Evenor: **Goodbye, pests.

_Evenor vanishes in a puff of dark magic. You rush forward to Janae’s side, picking her up. You attempt to use Divine Pulse to undo this action. Time resumes as normal right when Janae gets stabbed again. Words echo around You, but You are unable to focus on them. You attempt again and again to use Divine Pulse, but it fails each time to save Janae from getting hurt._

**Seraphine: **I can’t go back any further… We’ll have to help her in this timeline if we can’t fix it! Come on!

_You focus on Janae’s figure as the other students swarm You to see if she is alright. Tears rise in your eyes, but they do not fall._

**Kyle: **I-I can heal her! Give me a moment!

_Kyle attempts to heal Janae._

**Yuliya: **I’m so glad I remembered my medical supplies today…

**Nesreen: **We don’t have time to waste. We have to get back to the monastery.

**Kaeta: **Lady Aisa can do something to help her.

**Reese: **Students, run! Get out of here!

**Falon: **This way to the entrance!

**Aestlyn: **I-I can barely see anything…

**Nora: **Come on!

**Cassia: **Leave the papers behind! Our safety is more important than evidence!

_The students burst outside soon after they arrive above ground. As soon as the last person leaves the area, the hatch down into the hideout shuts._

**Magnolia: **Ugh… I feel sick…

**Adrian: **Is everyone alright…?!

**Illona: **I think so… But what about Janae…?

**Reese: **We have to start moving. Go. Now.

**Magnolia: **Understood.

_The students start to dash away from the area. You look down to Janae, seeing how pale she already appears. Yuliya and Kyle’s actions have already helped, but she is still unconscious._

**Seraphine: **I… I don’t want to think about what just happened. I just want to make sure she survives. Come on. Let’s go.

_Your party hurries back to the monastery. Upon arriving, You take Janae to the infirmary._

**Jill: **What’s going on? Wait… What happened?!

_You quickly explain the situation._

**Jill: **Understood. I’ll do all that I can. Go find Lady Aisa.

_You run to find Aisa. You see her in the audience chamber._

**Aisa: **Professor, what’s wrong? You seem flushed.

_You explain what happened and tell her to go to the infirmary._

**Aisa: **I understand… Stay here. I’ll come get you as soon as I have an update on the situation.

_You nod and remain in the audience chamber. You wait there for what feels like an eternity until Aisa returns._

**Aisa: **I have good news and bad news… Janae McCreary will yet live. She will survive, but… I am unsure as to when she will wake up. I am currently sustaining her with a small amount of magic. I’m glad she arrived when she did… I don’t know if she would have survived if she had arrived any later.

_You thank Aisa for her help._

**Aisa: **It is no issue… I would advise giving the professors some space for the night. Herwig and Reese sent the rest of the students to their rooms. The students were all in a hazy chaos. The students who went with you were exhausted, and those who didn’t were incredibly worried. You do not need to go back to the classroom to report to them.

_You nod your understanding._

**Aisa: **I… I heard the story from Reese soon after he arrived in the infirmary. Evenor Hepius betrayed us… In truth, she was performing human experiments on the disowned descendants of the Faixnoye line to try and give them Crests. Others who longed for Crests were also taken in. It seems her experiments were successful… However, they had a horrible toll on the test subjects psychologically, and they were all harmed horribly by the work. If the experiments were performed even slightly incorrectly, their bodies were mangled. If they weren’t harmed physically, their mental health suffered horribly… Her crimes will never be forgotten. If she ever shows her face again, we will have no choice but to kill her.

_You agree with her._

**Aisa: **You may be dismissed for the night… I know sleep will not come easy, but I wish you the best.

_You thank Aisa before leaving the audience chamber. You start to walk back to your room as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Evenor harmed countless people before taking us in… I have to wonder if we fell victim to her actions as well. Did she kidnap us to be a test subject? It would explain how we got two Crests when most other people only have one… It can’t be natural… I feel sick just thinking of it… All this time, I thought she was a good person who looked after us when we had no one, but this was not the case.

_You look at the ground._

**Seraphine: **Then there’s Janae… Evenor killed her child. Crescent… I feel awful for them… She was so overcome with rage that she wanted to murder Evenor, and after hearing about all she did… I can’t blame her… I feel sick thinking about all this.

_You lay down on your bed after arriving in your room._

**Seraphine: **Goodnight, Professor… I hope you feel better tomorrow…

_It doesn’t take You long to fall asleep, as You were far more exhausted than You ever could have realized. You feel tears appear on your face soon before You sleep, and You are unsure as to if You are crying for Crescent, Janae, Evenor’s betrayal, or some combination. However, You do know that the future is uncertain, and the idea of facing it makes You feel anxious and sick… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I say plot twist? I feel like I should say plot twist. 
> 
> -Digital


	64. Chapter Ten: Artificial Strength I (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You learn of your mission to find out more about the mysterious mages who kidnapped Florence and Herwig.

_On the first day of the Guardian Moon, You wake up and start to make your way to the audience chamber. Seraphine appears and walks with You._

**Seraphine: **Maybe we should start asking around about Crescent… The best person to ask would be Evenor, but we don’t exactly have access to her at the moment. Maybe we could see about Rhian as well… I somehow doubt anybody here would know about either of them, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to see.

_You nod your agreement as You arrive at your destination. Seraphine disappears as You approach Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **Good morning, Professor. How are you doing on this fine morning?

_You say that You are doing well._

**Aisa: **I’m glad to hear it…

**Roy: **This month, your mission will be to find out more about the mages who kidnapped Florence and Herwig a few months ago.

**Aisa: **I’m afraid we didn’t know anything more about them, so we didn’t have anyone go after them, but the time has come.

**Roy: **You will be heading deep into Adrestia to a hideout they have underground.

**Aisa: **We don’t know much else about them…

**Roy: **They are clearly involved with Malice, but we don’t know why they took Florence.

**Aisa: **Even if they were interested in her Crest, we don’t know what happened while she was their captive.

**Roy: **She doesn’t remember much of anything from that time.

**Aisa: **Your mission will be to find out what their motives are.

**Roy: **We would like to know who is leading them as well, though this may prove to be difficult to find out.

**Aisa: **Regardless, the time has come for you to make your decision about which house you wish to follow for the month.

**Roy: **Which one will it be?

_You think about it for a moment before settling with the Black Eagless._

**Aisa: **Are you sure this is the choice you wish to make?

_You nod._

**Roy: **You should go and talk to them at this time.

**Aisa: **We will be eagerly awaiting the information you uncover after the mission.

**Roy: **Until then, have a nice day.

_You nod and leave the audience chamber._

**Seraphine: **Hm… The mages who took Florence… I think there was one more weird thing about them. Each one of them had a random Crest they realistically could not have had access to. That must be why they’re sending us out. They want to know where all of these random Crests came from. Either way, that can wait. I want to know more about Crescent for now. Let’s start asking around as soon as we finish talking to the kids.

_You nod your agreement as You enter the Black Eagles homeroom._

**Herwig: **It’s good to see you, Professor.

**Chris: **Do you know what our plan is for the month?

_You explain the month’s mission to the students._

**Hegias: **We’re supposed to see the odd mages…

**Florence: **I’ve certainly been curious about them up to this point.

**Aquillus: **This is a good place to start with answering questions we haven’t found a solution to up to this point.

**Zelhira: **We can’t exactly go to track Bazler, so this would be the next logical stop.

**Tuncay: **I’m curious about these mages as well.

**Callisto: **I want to know where their odd crests came from…

**Polly: **We’ll hopefully find an answer this moon.

**Tuncay: **This couldn’t have been accomplished naturally.

**Aquillus: **How could one get a Crest by unnatural means?

**Callisto:** How would someone get a Crest unnaturally?

**Florence: **If it’s real, this would change everything.

**Herwig: **Chaos would cover the land.

**Zelhira: **I don’t even want to imagine it.

**Polly: **People could try to become nobility when they lacked Crests at birth.

**Hegias: **Imagine it…

**Chris: **That would allow countless corrupted figures to rise to power…

**Herwig: **The mere idea is unsettling.

**Aquillus: **I don’t know how to feel, but it’s odd…

**Zelhira: **We can let it wait until our next outing.

**Tuncay: **We have time to think everything over.

**Callisto: **We’ll have to prepare ourselves.

**Florence: **We don’t have a clue what we’ll be walking into.

**Polly: **We’ll have to be ready.

**Hegias: **Everything will be fine…

**Aquillus: **We won’t know until we arrive if Crests will be a factor in this battle.

**Herwig: **We can’t slack off.

**Zelhira: **Now isn’t the time to neglect training.

**Florence:** I’m already prepared to beat them in with my spear!

**Tuncay: **We have time before then to relax though.

**Polly: **Yeah. We don’t want to freak ourselves out too much early on.

**Callisto: **I agree fully.

**Hegias: **Is that all there is to discuss?

**Chris: **Yes… It should be… I’ll talk to you later on.

_The students all leave the classroom as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Is it just me, or was Hegias acting weird?

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **We’ll have to ask him about it a bit later on.

_You promise to do so as Seraphine vanishes. Soon after, You begin to look around the monastery. You first run into Cassia speaking with Nora in the Officers Academy courtyard._

**Cassia: **I wonder what those mages are capable of… If they can truly give anyone a Crest, the tide of our continent’s political system will change forever.

**Nora: **It wouldn’t be good for the nobles… But if Crests become more common, they won’t be as special.

**Cassia: **Nobility will no longer be established based on Crests…

**Nora: **I could get behind that kind of world, if you want the truth.

**Cassia: **I understand that concept fully…

**Nora: **It wouldn’t be so bad.

_Next, You see Zelhira talking to Hegias in the Black Eagles classroom._

**Zelhira: **Hegias, are you sure you’re alright? You’ve been acting shifty all day.

**Hegias: **I’ve just been thinking about what the mission is for the month.

**Zelhira: **What about it bothers you so much?

**Hegias: **I don’t want to talk about it… Is that okay?

**Zelhira: **If you really don’t want to discuss it, I won’t press you… Just know that I’m watching you.

**Hegias: **Understood…

_Finally, You encounter Raithius and Novalee in the Officers Academy courtyard. You ask them about Crescent._

**Raithius: **Crescent? You want to know more about a person named Crescent?

**Novalee: **I’m afraid I don’t know anyone who goes by that name…

**Raithius: **Well, I at least don’t know anyone who uses it commonly.

**Novalee: **What do you mean?

**Raithius: **Perhaps you should consider Crescent as a name someone doesn’t use…

**Novalee: **I see… Good luck in your search, Professor.

_You head to the training hall next. Once there, You see Wynne, Kaeta, and Piers talking._

**Wynne: **Lady Aisa has been getting awfully tense lately… Surely you guys have noticed it.

**Kaeta: **I have… It’s weird. She hasn’t been this stressed out ever before.

**Piers: **Even when she does get stressed, she masks it well, but that isn’t the case now… It’s worrying.

**Wynne: **What could it mean?

**Piers: **She thinks something is coming…

**Kaeta: **And it has to be something big.

_After finishing in the training hall, You move to the bottom floor of dorms. You see Aquillus and Florence talking to each other._

**Aquillus: **You really don’t remember anything from when you were taken in by the mages?

**Florence: **Not really. If I knew what they were up to, I would have brought it up already.

**Aquillus: **Everything that happened after you were taken is a blur…

**Florence: **Yeah… I wish I could help everyone out more.

**Aquillus: **I’m just glad you’re safe.

**Florence: **Thanks, Aquillus.

_You head up to the second floor of dorms. At the end of the hallway, You see Polly standing alone. You ask her about Crescent._

**Polly: **Crescent? I do know someone with that name… But why do you ask?

_You notice her hesitating and ask about a person named Rhian._

**Polly: **…Why are you asking all of this? I’m not trying to be rude, but what are you planning?

_You say that You are planning nothing._

**Polly: **Suspicious… Whatever you say…

**Seraphine: **She has to know something… But she isn’t saying what it is…

_You ask about Crescent again._

**Polly: **Go and ask Chris about it. See if she wants to talk.

_You nod and walk away. You go back downstairs and head to the greenhouse. Inside, You see Aestlyn and Kyle talking._

**Aestlyn: **The ball last month was such fun… I wish it was still going on.

**Kyle: **You danced beautifully at the festival, Aestlyn.

**Aestlyn: **Thank you, Kyle… You weren’t too bad yourself.

**Kyle: **Perhaps we should meet up and show off our dancing skills once again.

**Aestlyn: **I would love that.

**Kyle: **Yes! Sweet!

_You leave the greenhouse and head to the fishing hole. Standing at the edge of the dock is Karim, who is talking with Illona._

**Karim: **Illona, are you sure you’re alright? You’re acting so oddly.

**Illona: **I’m fine! Just peachy!

**Karim: **If you were really okay, I don’t think you would be saying things like ‘peachy’.

**Illona: **Well… Maybe I just like to say peachy!

**Karim: **Okay… Alright. Sure.

**Illona: **Will you leave me alone now?

**Karim: **Ugh… Fine…

_You go to the marketplace next. Callisto and Tuncay are talking there._

**Callisto: **This decorative sword looks amazing…

**Tuncay: **Callus, you sure are in love with that thing…

**Callisto: **Callus?

**Tuncay: **What?

**Callisto: **Oh, nothing… What’s my name?

**Tuncay: **Callus.

**Callisto: **This is hopeless… Yikes.

_You go north to the entrance hall. Inside, You encounter Sofia speaking with Adeline and Wolfgang._

**Sofia: **You know, you both did very well at the ball last month.

**Adeline: **Really?

**Sofia: **Of course! Your dancing was incredible, Adeline.

**Wolfgang: **I enjoyed our brief dance as well, Sofia.

**Sofia: **What can I say? I know how to make the ladies happy.

**Adeline: **You’re so smooth… I’m impressed.

**Wolfgang: **You’re awesome, Sofia.

**Sofia: **Aw… Thanks, you two.

_Further into the entrance hall, You see Adrian and approach him._

**Adrian: **Professor, guess what? I’m going to be joining you from here on out! Lady Aisa told me to join you in your mission this month, and I’m going to be sticking around with you after it’s over too.

_You say You are happy to have him join You._

**Adrian: **Thanks, Professor. I won’t be letting you down!

_You go into the reception hall next, and You see Miriam talking to Rodain there._

**Rodain: **You sure are looking lovely today, Miriam.

**Miriam: **Do you really insist on going through these motions every time we meet eyes?

**Rodain: **I enjoy telling women how much I appreciate them is all.

**Miriam: **In other words, you’re hopeless.

**Rodain: **That’s not how I would put it… Just flirtatious.

**Miriam: **Of course that’s how you would say it…

_You move to the knights’ hall, where You see Yuliya speaking with Cordelia._

**Cordelia: **Yuliya, are you alright? You’ve been getting more and more exhausted over time.

**Yuliya: **I’ve been doing night shift at least three times a week for ages.

**Cordelia: **Who’s been assigning you to do that?

**Yuliya: **I thought it was you.

**Cordelia: **No, not at all… Must be your faction’s commander. I’ll take care of it.

**Yuliya: **Huh… That went a lot better than I expected.

_Next, You go to the stables. Once there, You encounter Magnolia and Falon. You ask them about Crescent._

**Magnolia: **Crescent? I’m afraid I haven’t heard anything about them… Sorry to disappoint, Professor.

**Falon: **I don’t know anything about a person with that name either.

**Magnolia: **Is anything else on your mind?

_You ask about Rhian next._

**Falon: **Rhian… Hm. I don’t know anybody by that name either.

**Magnolia: **I hope you find out what you’re looking for soon enough.

**Falon: **Good luck, Professor!

_You make your way to the cathedral next. You see Chris standing alone on the bridge there. You ask her about Crescent._

**Chris: **Ah… I actually do know someone with that name…

_You ask who it is._

**Chris: **Um… Me. That’s my full name. I haven’t gone by it in over twelve years, but that’s what official records say at the palace. My father is the only one to use it, but he stopped at the request of another.

**Seraphine: **No way…! Ask if she knows about Rhian!

_You ask about Rhian next._

**Chris: **Hm… No, I don’t know anything about someone by that name. Sorry to disappoint you, Professor.

**Seraphine: **I guess it was just a coincidence… That stinks… Back to square one for us.

_Inside the cathedral, You encounter William, Lev, and Cedric, who are all standing together._

**William: **The school year is getting close to its end…

**Lev: **Two moons from now, we’ll be preparing for graduation… After this moon’s mission, we’ll only have one mission left.

**Cedric: **Time sure does pass quickly… So much has changed since we began our studies here.

**Lev: **I’m going to miss everyone after we split up…

**Cedric: **We’ll all just have to stay in touch.

**William: **I know I’ll never forget our time here.. I’ll hold these memories dearly forever.

_You encounter Erika inside the cathedral._

**Erika: **Professor… Herwig has already told me much about you. I am impressed you have a connection to Sirius. I hope you are using it well.

_You nod._

**Erika: **This church is so different from what I am used to… I hope it gets better soon…

_You offer to help her if she needs anything._

**Erika: **Thank you for the offer, Professor.

_You walk up to Janae, who is also in the cathedral._

**Janae: **We have much to discuss, Professor… I’m unsure as to if we can discuss it now though. I will speak to you later…

_You nod and ask her if she knows anything about Crescent._

**Janae: **I… I do… Crescent is what I once named my child… Unfortunately, it is widely believed they died. If you think Crescent holds the answers you seek, you would be mistaken.

_You ask about Rhian next._

**Janae: **I know little of one named Rhian… But I heard whispers from a few Adrestian priestesses after leaving Emperor Hendrix’s court. Rhian was the name of a daughter of Lord Thaddeus Bazler… Unfortunately, she is suspected to have been killed in a horrible incident alongside her mother. I pray this information helps.

_You thank her for the help. You move to the second floor. You see Reese and Jill conversing soon after You arrive there._

**Reese: **This year has gone by in the blink of an eye…

**Jill: **So much more has happened this year compared to years past.

**Reese: **Instead of defeating bandits, we have actual enemies to deal with.

**Jill: **It’s unfortunate… I hope nothing happens for the rest of the year.

**Reese: **Me too… Though I somehow doubt we’ll be that lucky.

**Jill: **As much as I hate to admit it, you’re likely right…

_You head to the commons room, and inside, You run into Herwig and Nesreen._

**Herwig: **How have you been adjusting since settling in as a part-time student?

**Nesreen: **It’s a lot less troublesome than I would have expected.

**Herwig: **I’m willing to take that as a win.

**Nesreen: **How about your sister? Is she settling in well?

**Herwig: **It… It will take time, but I’m sure she’ll be alright.

**Nesreen: **That’s a good thing, I suppose…

_You leave the commons room to go to the library, where You encounter Niko and Derric._

**Niko: **Derric, why are you so pale?

**Derric: **Mother and Father have stopped sending letters to me.

**Niko: **What’s so odd about that? They don’t care for one son, so maybe they’ve finally given up on being good parents.

**Derric: **They’ve been exchanging letters with me about life ever since I moved here… For them to stop like this is unnatural.

**Niko: **Hm… How odd…

**Derric: **I wonder what’s going on with them…

_Finally, You move to the audience chamber to speak with Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **Janae McCreary… She’s been settling in rather well since coming here.

**Roy: **However, she seems to be on edge at times…

**Aisa: **I have noticed that as well. Perhaps that is a side effect of living in Emperor Hendrix’s court.

**Roy: **That is far from a pleasant place to be… I hope she starts to feel better soon.

**Aisa: **I feel the same…

_You leave the audience chamber to head back to your room after finishing your exploration. You sit down on your bed upon arriving as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Crescent refers to two different people, it seems… It’s the full name of Chris, who is the leader of the Black Eagles and future leader of Adrestia. It’s also the first name of Janae’s child, who is suspected to have died a long time ago… Janae was a consort of Emperor Hendrix. It’s odd that two children with the same father would have the same name. Even if the mothers of the children remained separated, it’s odd that they would share a name if they were different people in the same proximity.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **Honestly, I would propose that Chris is her daughter, but that has a few problems… For one, there’s about a four year age gap in between Chris and Janae’s child. Even if Janae’s child is still alive, those four years can’t be ignored. It’s odd that Janae’s child died around the same time that Chris was announced as heir to the throne though… It seems fishy. It’s like one person picked up where the other one left off…

_You point out Janae’s odd behavior from the moon before._

**Seraphine: **That’s the other problem I was thinking about. Janae said it was impossible that Chris was eighteen… There’s so many things that don’t add up here. We’re close to finding out the truth, but it’s barely out of reach… I bet the Crescent in question refers to Janae’s child in this case. Chris hasn’t gone by that name in over twelve years. She told us that herself. Even so, perhaps it is her… The timeline might add up… I don’t know! Everything is just weird!

_You give Seraphine a moment to calm down._

**Seraphine: **After that, there’s Rhian… She was a daughter of Thaddeus Bazler. However, she is suspected to have died in a murder case… Tracking anything about her is going to be difficult. She could have been on Bazler’s estate, but how do we know for sure? Besides, if she died a long time ago, nobody would bother keeping records about her. Even what Janae told us seemed unreliable since it was all based around rumors… I wish we knew more about both Rhian and Crescent, but I somehow doubt we’ll be finding out more.

_You frown and admit that she has likely right._

**Seraphine: **We can go over what we have now as many times as we want, but I don’t think it will help us out. Until we can get another piece of the puzzle, we aren’t going to be finding out anything else… Let’s get to bed. The longer I think about this, the greater my headache gets… I don’t even know if spirits can get headaches, but I feel like if I could get one, it would be like this.

_You agree with Seraphine and lay down. Seraphine disappears into thin air. It takes You a while to fall asleep, focusing on what everything You have learned could mean. Crescent and Rhian drift in and out of your consciousness, but You do not know what either of them could mean in the grand scheme of things. However, You lack the information needed to find the answers You seek, so You let sleep claim You. However, your slumber is restless, and You long to know more than the world has provided You… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update is going out at 12:37 AM which is technically Friday. 
> 
> So happy birthday to Raith's creator (Fera) since I'm posting this early for him. I hope you enjoy in particular, my dude. 
> 
> -Digital


	65. Chapter Ten: Artificial Strength II (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Black Eagles set out for your mission, meeting some peculiar figures when You arrive.

_The day of the mission, You wake up and see Seraphine beside You._

**Seraphine: **I have a bad feeling about all of this… I don’t know how to describe it. Be sure to bring Sirius along today, alright? I don’t want to lose because we don’t have it.

_You take Seraphine’s advice and grab Sirius from its place against the wall. You know it is odd for Seraphine to be so uncomfortable, so You decide to take her words to heart. She disappears as You sheath the blade and place it at your hip. You walk to the Black Eagles classroom as soon as You are finished. Inside, You see the students alongside Herwig, Kaeta, Nesreen, Yuliya, and Adrian._

**Herwig: **It’s time that we learned more about these odd mages.

**Aquillus: **I can’t help but wonder who they all are.

**Callisto: **We will get answers today.

**Nesreen: **Lady Aisa wants as much information as we can gather.

**Polly: **They won’t be getting away this time.

**Florence: **They won’t get off for what they did months ago.

**Zelhira: **The Church of Seiros is sure to take care of the situation even if we find ourselves unable to succeed.

**Hegias: **I’m not fond of this idea…

**Chris: **You’re going to be fine. I promise. I’ll make sure this goes in our favor.

**Tuncay: **It’s time for us to head out.

**Kaeta: **I don’t see a reason not to.

**Yuliya: **Welcome to the hell hole, Adrian.

**Adrian: **I’m sure I’ll have fun here.

**Herwig:** Are we all ready?

**Polly: **I’m pretty sure we are.

**Aquillus: **We have no way of knowing what we’re dealing with today.

**Florence: **They could have Crests with them.

**Zelhira: **We’ll find out why if they do have Crests.

**Callisto: **Now that Florence and Professor Wessin aren’t in danger, the church can pursue them freely.

**Hegias: **How can you be so confident about this…? I’m worried…

**Tuncay: **Don’t worry, Hedges. We have this all under control.

**Chris: **If we’re all really ready, why are we still here at the monastery?

**Yuliya: **Probably because you kids wanted to talk for a little while longer.

**Nesreen: **Let’s stop that then.

**Kaeta: **Of course!

**Adrian: **I’m happy to lend my aid to you for the time being.

**Chris: **Alright… In that case, off we go.

_You nod and watch as the group leaves the room. You take up the tail end of the party, though You pause when You hear a voice behind You._

**Janae: **W-Wait!

_You turn around to face her._

**Janae: **I… I would like to come with you. I fear we will be unable to speak unless we are both free of the monastery, and now is the best time… May I accompany you on your mission?

**Seraphine: **If this will get us some answers, of course. I want to know what’s going on.

_You nod to Janae._

**Janae: **Thank you, Professor… I can heal you and your students should the need arise. I won’t let you down.

_You thank her for the offer as she scurries away to walk with the rest of the group._

**Seraphine: **After this fight ends, we’ll actually get some answers… All the more reason to get this over with as soon as possible.

_You nod your agreement and follow the rest of the group out of Garreg Mach._

_You arrive in Adrestia a few hours later. Your group stands in a barren outdoor space._

**Herwig: **This should be the place for us to fight the mages… The church said they were hiding here, but I don’t see them.

**Polly: **They were underground when we went to find you and Florence.

**Aquillus: **Maybe they’re beneath the ground once again.

**Callisto: **There has to be something around here somewhere…

**Zelhira:** This tree doesn’t blend in with the rest… Oh!

_A switch is hit on the tree, and a door opens from the yellow grass below._

**Florence: **There it is…

**Tuncay: **I can’t help but wonder who set this up. I’ve never seen anything like this.

**Hegias: **It appears rather advanced.

**Chris: **I hope we get the answers we seek down there…

**Nesreen: **Get in, everyone. We have to see what’s going on.

**Yuliya: **Those mages aren’t going to wait for us long.

**Adrian: **We should be ready for an ambush.

**Kaeta: **If they try anything, we’ll take care of them.

**Janae: **Be careful, everyone… I don’t want you to get hurt.

_You watch as the rest of the group files down the stairs into the depths of the passageway. You follow them as Seraphine speaks to You._

**Seraphine: **My bad feeling is only getting worse… Be careful down there, alright?

_You agree to stay safe as You follow your party underground. The group is silent as everyone walks through the passage. However, the path soon widens out to show a much larger space. It consists of a large room filled with many soldiers. Each one is wearing ragged clothes and appears to be suffering by merely standing still. Clumps of hair are on the ground, and splatters of blood paint the floor. Many of the fighters have bright white hair. The soldiers do not appear to have been washed in weeks, perhaps months. The sight brings You shock._

**Herwig: **What in the world is going on here?!

**Aquillus: **They seem so ill.

**Florence:** But this is supposed to be the spot…

**Tuncay: **Could we have to fight them?

**Kaeta: **I wish I could give you an answer…

**Zelhira: **Somebody must have locked them beneath the ground.

**Callisto: **Perhaps they’re the real person we’re after.

**Chris: **They won’t be getting away with this…

**Yuliya: **This is inhumane…

**Adrian: **What could have happened to them? I doubt this happened naturally.

**Polly: **I won’t let those who did this get away with it…

**Nesreen: **I never would have expected this.

**Janae: **We need to heal them immediately…

**Hegias: **Someone is coming.

_A pair of figures come into view soon after Hegias speaks. One of them is a taller man with lavender hair. He has a similar appearance to Illona. His clothing is much nicer than everyone else’s, and it is clear he has more than enough money to spare. The second person is much more familiar, and You recognize her as soon as she appears: Evenor Hepius._

**Man: **I thought you said we were meant to be alone.

**Evenor: **I assumed we would be… But it seems the Church of Seiros is nosier than we thought.

**Janae: **Y-You…!

_If the Black Eagles were followed during Chapter Two: The Wandering Scholar, this dialogue plays out._

**Herwig: **Ms. Hepius… Why are you here?

**Polly: **Is she truly involved with this?

**Aquillus: **I assumed she was on our side.

**Florence: **She betrayed us…!

**Hegias: **No… This can’t be happening…!

**Chris: **No way…

**Callisto: **She deceived us on purpose…

**Zelhira: **I can’t believe it…

**Tuncay: **Give us answers. Now.

_If the Black Eagles were not followed during Chapter Two: The Wandering Scholar, this dialogue plays out._

**Janae: **It has been years since I saw you, Evenor… Not long enough.

**Herwig: **Evenor… As in Evenor Hepius?

**Polly: **That appears to be the case…

**Aquillus: **I assumed she was on our side.

**Florence: **She betrayed us…!

**Hegias: **No… This can’t be happening…!

**Chris: **No way…

**Callisto: **She deceived us on purpose…

**Zelhira: **I can’t believe it…

**Tuncay: **Give us answers. Now.

_Both sides of dialogue merge here._

**Janae: **You fiend! Do your crimes ever cease?!

**Evenor: **I didn’t expect to see you here of all places, Janae… I thought you never wanted to step underground ever again.

**Janae: **Because of you and what you did all those years ago!

**Seraphine: **What is she talking about…?!

**Herwig: **We demand an explanation immediately.

**Janae: **When she worked at the palace in Enbarr, she experimented on the children of the emperor! He wanted a child with a Crest so badly that he sent them off to be used as playthings for her human experimentation! Crescent… I don’t know what you did with them, but I swear to the Goddess Sothis herself--

**Chris: **Don’t fight her… We should try to keep from being violent. We don’t know what she has up her sleeve.

**Polly: **You hurt the people here…

**Evenor: **I did what I had to. They needed Crests by order of the emperor of Adrestia. I may have failed twelve years ago, but I refused to back down.

**Florence: **Quit being vague!

**Man: **I’ll leave this in your capable hands, Evenor.

_The man disappears in a puff of dark magic._

**Hegias: **No… This can’t be real…

**Tuncay: **Talk or else.

**Evenor: **The emperor of Adrestia wanted a child with a Crest. Unfortunately, none of them happened to have one by birth. His desperation grew, and he asked me to indulge in other methods… Granted, they weren’t uncommon even before his rule.

**Aquillus: **They’re suffering like this because of human experimentation…

**Zelhira: **You are scum for hurting so many people this way.

**Janae: **You likely killed my child! Crescent was ripped from my arms because of you! Tell me… What did you do to them?!

**Evenor: **The Crescent you know died long ago beneath the palace of Adrestia.

**Janae: **I… No…

**Callisto: **The experimentation must have done it… It killed her child and drove all the people we see here to madness.

**Seraphine: **Why would Evenor do all of this? This was before she took you in, but… It’s insane!

**Nesreen: **Nothing can make up for the sins you have committed… You are a monster.

**Evenor: **Results matter above all else… If they aren’t strong enough to endure, so be it.

**Kaeta: **I can’t believe you can be so casual about killing people!

**Yuliya: **I’ll have to carve your heart from your chest myself…

**Adrian: **I’ve had enough of standing around…! Let’s end this already!

**Evenor: **Perhaps the time has come… Fallen children of the emperor! Rise!

_The soldiers in the room all stand to attention._

**Evenor: **I gave you Crests so that you may be valued. Your recovery may not be complete, but I order you to defend me!

**Seraphine: **Wait… Remember how we learned there were a bunch of children born of the emperor years ago? These must be all those kids! They were presumed dead, but they were stolen away by Evenor to be experimented on… Even if she was watching after for years, she could have had that man watching over them! And… Some of them died in the process… If Evenor took an interest in you, does this mean you are an experiment of the Empire as well? This can’t be… I-I…

**Chris: **Black Eagles… We fight together! She will not escape after all she has done!

_The battle begins. You turn your attention towards Evenor._

**Evenor: **I have had enough of this infernal skin…

_Evenor’s appearance drastically changes. Her skin grows much paler, and her hair becomes white. She appears ancient and only halfway human._

**Chris: **What’s happening…?!

**Evenor: **You shall not escape this place… Not as long as I have a say in it!

_You focus back on the fight at hand. Scattered throughout the battlefield are weakened soldiers. Their movements are unnatural, as if they have no control of their bodies. You assume this is a result of the experimentation. They have random Crests as well, though none bear the Crest of Flames or Unio. The Black Eagles defeat the enemies, taking mercy on these shattered souls to give them rest after their time in perpetual agony. You fight alongside them, using the might of Sirius to defend yourself. You remain close to Janae, who is healing your troops from the back of the group._

_If You initiate combat with Evenor, this dialogue plays out._

**Evenor: **You were the one person I didn’t wish to fight… You must forgive me for this, Rion… Please, join me… You do not wish to? I… I apologize for what I must do.

_If Chris initiates combat with Evenor, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **All of these people… You did this to them. Where did they come from?

**Evenor: **They are all related to the Faixnoye family. One of them would have taken the throne if not for you, pest.

**Chris: **But there are so many…!

**Evenor: **Before Crest experimentation rose, having more children to find one with a Crest was common… But those who didn’t have one were exiled. Those children made families, and when I told them the truth, they wanted what they should have had from birth.

**Chris: **You used them… If they wanted power, you could use that as an excuse to rise in the Empire. When you were tossed aside, you didn’t even have the decency to release them… You continue to manipulate and harm them even now!

**Evenor: **Such a debate matters not here. I’ll be looking forward to burying you six feet under, pesky child!

_If Polly initiates combat with Evenor, this dialogue plays out._

**Evenor: **Polly Riverbane… I know your family well.

**Polly: **What are you talking about?

**Evenor: **Your parents were incredibly disappointed when your sister didn’t manifest a Crest. Her hair is white… That is not natural. I made a minor mistake in my experiments when trying to give her a Crest.

**Polly: **You… You used her as one of your test subjects?!

**Evenor: **I believe you know the answer.

**Polly: **I’m going to end your life for what you did to her!

**Evenor: **I invite you to try.

_If Hegias initiates combat with Evenor, this dialogue plays out. If Hegias tries to fight Evenor, she will refuse to attack him._

**Hegias: **Evenor, I don’t understand… Why did you do all this?

**Evenor: **Hegias, I do not wish to fight you. You can still leave behind the Officers Academy and join me.

**Hegias: **I… This isn’t right…!

**Evenor: **I’m the reason you’re there in the first place. Who do you trust more? Them or me?

**Hegias: **I’m so sorry… I-I don’t know…

**Evenor: **Consider my offer. I’ll await your answer later. For now, I will not fight you.

_If Adrian initiates combat with Evenor, this dialogue plays out._

**Adrian: **You… You are a monster.

**Evenor: **So I have heard.

**Adrian: **What gives you the right to kidnap people, imprison them, and use them as test subjects for your sick experiments?!

**Evenor: **If people want Crests, I am happy to provide… I am a top Crest scholar on this continent. I can give anyone a Crest with minimal side effects.

**Adrian: **At what cost?!

**Evenor: **That is none of my concern, nor should it be any of yours.

**Adrian: **Enough talking! Let’s finish this!

_If anyone else initiates combat with Evenor, this dialogue plays out._

**Evenor: **You will pay for trespassing into my testing space.

_If You defeat Evenor, this dialogue plays out._

**Evenor: **Rion… You should be with me, not against me…

_If Hegias defeats Evenor, this dialogue plays out._

**Evenor: **Hegias, my offer remains… You can still side with me…

_When Evenor is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Evenor: **Do not think this is a victory for you…

_After the battle, You stand with your forces around Evenor._

**Chris: **Your fight ends here. Surrender or be killed.

**Evenor: **I think not.

**Janae: **You… I can’t believe you are still causing so many issues to this world! How many have you killed in your quest of ‘results’?!

**Evenor: **That numbers matters not.

**Janae: **That number means everything… Since my child was one of them!

_Janae grabs a discarded sword from the ground, dashing towards Evenor. Evenor ducks underneath her slash before showing a dagger and swiftly stabbing Janae in the abdomen. Janae gasps in shock before collapsing to the ground._

**Evenor: **I’m finished with you… All of you.

_Evenor summons a fireball and throws it onto the ground, causing a violent fire to break down, fueled by the numerous papers on the floor._

**Tuncay: **She’s going to burn us all…!

**Evenor: **Goodbye, pests.

_Evenor vanishes in a puff of dark magic. You rush forward to Janae’s side, picking her up. You attempt to use Divine Pulse to undo this action. Time resumes as normal right when Janae gets stabbed again. Words echo around You, but You are unable to focus on them. You attempt again and again to use Divine Pulse, but it fails each time to save Janae from getting hurt._

**Seraphine: **I can’t go back any further… We’ll have to help her in this timeline if we can’t fix it! Come on!

_You focus on Janae’s figure as the other students swarm You to see if she is alright. Tears rise in your eyes, but they do not fall._

**Zelhira: **Step aside. I can take care of this.

_Kyle attempts to heal Janae._

**Yuliya: **I’m so glad I remembered my medical supplies today…

**Nesreen: **We don’t have time to waste. We have to get back to the monastery.

**Kaeta: **Lady Aisa can do something to help her.

**Herwig: **Everyone, go for the exit!

**Polly: **This way! Come on!

**Aquillus: **There’s already so much damn smoke…!

**Florence: **Let’s get going!

**Callisto: **Don’t bother with gathering the remaining papers! Getting out alive is most important!

_The students burst outside soon after they arrive above ground. As soon as the last person leaves the area, the hatch down into the hideout shuts. Chris falls to her knees and begins to cough soon after. Polly crouches down beside her._

**Chris: **Goddess… I feel awful…

**Polly: **You’re alright… Don’t worry…

**Adrian: **Is everyone alright…?!

**Hegias: **Evenor… Why would you do this…?

**Herwig: **We can’t stay here any longer. For the sake of Janae, we have to return to the monastery immediately.

**Chris: **G-Got it…

**Polly: **I got you… Be careful, alright?

_Chris stands with help from Polly, though she is still coughing violently. The rest of students start to dash away from the area. You look down to Janae, seeing how pale she already appears. Yuliya and Zelhira’s actions have already helped, but she is still unconscious._

**Seraphine: **I… I don’t want to think about what just happened. I just want to make sure she survives. Come on. Let’s go.

_Your party hurries back to the monastery. Upon arriving, You take Janae to the infirmary._

**Jill: **What’s going on? Wait… What happened?!

_You quickly explain the situation._

**Jill: **Understood. I’ll do all that I can. Go find Lady Aisa.

_You run to find Aisa. You see her in the audience chamber._

**Aisa: **Professor, what’s wrong? You seem flushed.

_You explain what happened and tell her to go to the infirmary._

**Aisa: **I understand… Stay here. I’ll come get you as soon as I have an update on the situation.

_You nod and remain in the audience chamber. You wait there for what feels like an eternity until Aisa returns._

**Aisa: **I have good news and bad news… Janae McCreary will yet live. She will survive, but… I am unsure as to when she will wake up. I am currently sustaining her with a small amount of magic. I’m glad she arrived when she did… I don’t know if she would have survived if she had arrived any later.

_You thank Aisa for her help._

**Aisa: **It is no issue… I would advise giving the professors some space for the night. Herwig and Reese sent the rest of the students to their rooms. The students were all in a hazy chaos. The students who went with you were exhausted, and those who didn’t were incredibly worried. You do not need to go back to the classroom to report to them.

_You nod your understanding._

**Aisa: **I… I heard the story from Herwig soon after he arrived in the infirmary. Evenor Hepius betrayed us… In truth, she was performing human experiments on the disowned descendants of the Faixnoye line to try and give them Crests. Others who longed for Crests were also taken in. It seems her experiments were successful… However, they had a horrible toll on the test subjects psychologically, and they were all harmed horribly by the work. If the experiments were performed even slightly incorrectly, their bodies were mangled. If they weren’t harmed physically, their mental health suffered horribly… Her crimes will never be forgotten. If she ever shows her face again, we will have no choice but to kill her.

_You agree with her._

**Aisa: **You may be dismissed for the night… I know sleep will not come easy, but I wish you the best.

_You thank Aisa before leaving the audience chamber. You start to walk back to your room as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Evenor harmed countless people before taking us in… I have to wonder if we fell victim to her actions as well. Did she kidnap us to be a test subject? It would explain how we got two Crests when most other people only have one… It can’t be natural… I feel sick just thinking of it… All this time, I thought she was a good person who looked after us when we had no one, but this was not the case.

_You look at the ground._

**Seraphine: **Then there’s Janae… Evenor killed her child. Crescent… I feel awful for them… She was so overcome with rage that she wanted to murder Evenor, and after hearing about all she did… I can’t blame her… I feel sick thinking about all this.

_You lay down on your bed after arriving in your room._

**Seraphine: **Goodnight, Professor… I hope you feel better tomorrow…

_It doesn’t take You long to fall asleep, as You were far more exhausted than You ever could have realized. You feel tears appear on your face soon before You sleep, and You are unsure as to if You are crying for Crescent, Janae, Evenor’s betrayal, or some combination. However, You do know that the future is uncertain, and the idea of facing it makes You feel anxious and sick… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's so loud outside because of the storm and I would like the sky to be quiet please
> 
> -Digital


	66. Chapter Ten: Artificial Strength I (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You learn of your mission to find out more about the mysterious mages who kidnapped Florence and Herwig.

_On the first day of the Guardian Moon, You wake up and start to make your way to the audience chamber. Seraphine appears and walks with You._

**Seraphine: **Maybe we should start asking around about Crescent… The best person to ask would be Evenor, but we don’t exactly have access to her at the moment. Maybe we could see about Rhian as well… I somehow doubt anybody here would know about either of them, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to see.

_You nod your agreement as You arrive at your destination. Seraphine disappears as You approach Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **Good morning, Professor. How are you doing on this fine morning?

_You say that You are doing well._

**Aisa: **I’m glad to hear it…

**Roy: **This month, your mission will be to find out more about the mages who kidnapped Florence and Herwig a few months ago.

**Aisa: **I’m afraid we didn’t know anything more about them, so we didn’t have anyone go after them, but the time has come.

**Roy: **You will be heading deep into Adrestia to a hideout they have underground.

**Aisa: **We don’t know much else about them…

**Roy: **They are clearly involved with Malice, but we don’t know why they took Florence.

**Aisa: **Even if they were interested in her Crest, we don’t know what happened while she was their captive.

**Roy: **She doesn’t remember much of anything from that time.

**Aisa: **Your mission will be to find out what their motives are.

**Roy: **We would like to know who is leading them as well, though this may prove to be difficult to find out.

**Aisa: **Regardless, the time has come for you to make your decision about which house you wish to follow for the month.

**Roy: **Which one will it be?

_You think about it for a moment before settling with the Golden Deer._

**Aisa: **Are you sure this is the choice you wish to make?

_You nod._

**Roy: **You should go and talk to them at this time.

**Aisa: **We will be eagerly awaiting the information you uncover after the mission.

**Roy: **Until then, have a nice day.

_You nod and leave the audience chamber._

**Seraphine: **Hm… The mages who took Florence… I think there was one more weird thing about them. Each one of them had a random Crest they realistically could not have had access to. That must be why they’re sending us out. They want to know where all of these random Crests came from. Either way, that can wait. I want to know more about Crescent for now. Let’s start asking around as soon as we finish talking to the kids.

_You nod your agreement as You enter the Golden Deer homeroom._

**Jill: **It’s good to see you, Professor.

**Raithius: **Can you tell us about the mission for the month?

_You explain the month’s mission to the students._

**Lev: **We’re looking into the mages?

**Sofia: **We do need to find out more about them, so this makes sense.

**Adeline: **We have so many questions left unanswered… I guess this is a strong starting point.

**William: **We can’t exactly track down Bazler, so this is the next logical course of action.

**Wolfgang: **I’ve been thinking about them a lot as of late too.

**Cedric: **These mages possessed Crests as well… Where did they come from?

**Novalee: **We’ll hopefully get our answers soon.

**William: **I highly doubt it was natural.

**Adeline: **Getting a Crest unnaturally…

**Wolfgang: **I don’t think it’s possible to just give somebody a Crest.

**Sofia: **That would change everything we know instantly.

**Jill: **Imagine the grabs for power…

**Cedric: **Chaos would cover all the lands in the blink of an eye.

**Novalee: **People could claim nobility despite being born a commoner…

**Lev: **Imagine it…

**Raithius: **It would be a realistic way to gain power if people wished to grow stronger.

**Jill: **That idea is insane…

**Adeline:** I don’t even want to imagine how it would go…

**William: **Hopefully, that won’t become an issue.

**Wolfgang: **We still have a while before it’s our concern.

**Cedric: **We’ll need to ready ourselves until then.

**Sofia:** The future is uncertain, so we’ll need to be ready.

**Novalee: **Preparation is key.

**Lev: **I hope this goes well…

**Adeline: **I can’t help but wonder if we’ll be dealing with Crests or not.

**Jill: **Let’s prepare for that outcome.

**William:** It’s best to be ready for the worst than to be caught off guard.

**Sofia: **Battle waits for no person, after all.

**Wolfgang: **We should attempt to relax before we set out.

**Novalee: **Stress will hinder our battle performance.

**Cedric: **Precisely, Novalee.

**Lev:** Is that all we needed to discuss?

**Raithius: **I think so. Have a nice day, everyone.

_The students all leave the classroom. You follow them outside. Soon after, You begin to look around the monastery. You first run into Cassia speaking with Nora in the Officers Academy courtyard._

**Cassia: **I wonder what those mages are capable of… If they can truly give anyone a Crest, the tide of our continent’s political system will change forever.

**Nora: **It wouldn’t be good for the nobles… But if Crests become more common, they won’t be as special.

**Cassia: **Nobility will no longer be established based on Crests…

**Nora: **I could get behind that kind of world, if you want the truth.

**Cassia: **I understand that concept fully…

**Nora: **It wouldn’t be so bad.

_Next, You see Zelhira talking to Hegias in the Black Eagles classroom._

**Zelhira: **Hegias, are you sure you’re alright? You’ve been acting shifty all day.

**Hegias: **I’ve just been thinking about what the mission is for the month.

**Zelhira: **What about it bothers you so much?

**Hegias: **I don’t want to talk about it… Is that okay?

**Zelhira: **If you really don’t want to discuss it, I won’t press you… Just know that I’m watching you.

**Hegias: **Understood…

_Finally, You encounter Raithius and Novalee in the Officers Academy courtyard. You ask them about Crescent._

**Raithius: **Crescent? You want to know more about a person named Crescent?

**Novalee: **I’m afraid I don’t know anyone who goes by that name…

**Raithius: **Well, I at least don’t know anyone who uses it commonly.

**Novalee: **What do you mean?

**Raithius: **Perhaps you should consider Crescent as a name someone doesn’t use…

**Novalee: **I see… Good luck in your search, Professor.

_You head to the training hall next. Once there, You see Wynne, Kaeta, and Piers talking._

**Wynne: **Lady Aisa has been getting awfully tense lately… Surely you guys have noticed it.

**Kaeta: **I have… It’s weird. She hasn’t been this stressed out ever before.

**Piers: **Even when she does get stressed, she masks it well, but that isn’t the case now… It’s worrying.

**Wynne: **What could it mean?

**Piers: **She thinks something is coming…

**Kaeta: **And it has to be something big.

_After finishing in the training hall, You move to the bottom floor of dorms. You see Aquillus and Florence talking to each other._

**Aquillus: **You really don’t remember anything from when you were taken in by the mages?

**Florence: **Not really. If I knew what they were up to, I would have brought it up already.

**Aquillus: **Everything that happened after you were taken is a blur…

**Florence: **Yeah… I wish I could help everyone out more.

**Aquillus: **I’m just glad you’re safe.

**Florence: **Thanks, Aquillus.

_You head up to the second floor of dorms. At the end of the hallway, You see Polly standing alone. You ask her about Crescent._

**Polly: **Crescent? I do know someone with that name… But why do you ask?

_You notice her hesitating and ask about a person named Rhian._

**Polly: **…Why are you asking all of this? I’m not trying to be rude, but what are you planning?

_You say that You are planning nothing._

**Polly: **Suspicious… Whatever you say…

**Seraphine: **She has to know something… But she isn’t saying what it is…

_You ask about Crescent again._

**Polly: **Go and ask Chris about it. See if she wants to talk.

_You nod and walk away. You go back downstairs and head to the greenhouse. Inside, You see Aestlyn and Kyle talking._

**Aestlyn: **The ball last month was such fun… I wish it was still going on.

**Kyle: **You danced beautifully at the festival, Aestlyn.

**Aestlyn: **Thank you, Kyle… You weren’t too bad yourself.

**Kyle: **Perhaps we should meet up and show off our dancing skills once again.

**Aestlyn: **I would love that.

**Kyle: **Yes! Sweet!

_You leave the greenhouse and head to the fishing hole. Standing at the edge of the dock is Karim, who is talking with Illona._

**Karim: **Illona, are you sure you’re alright? You’re acting so oddly.

**Illona: **I’m fine! Just peachy!

**Karim: **If you were really okay, I don’t think you would be saying things like ‘peachy’.

**Illona: **Well… Maybe I just like to say peachy!

**Karim: **Okay… Alright. Sure.

**Illona: **Will you leave me alone now?

**Karim: **Ugh… Fine…

_You go to the marketplace next. Callisto and Tuncay are talking there._

**Callisto: **This decorative sword looks amazing…

**Tuncay: **Callus, you sure are in love with that thing…

**Callisto: **Callus?

**Tuncay: **What?

**Callisto: **Oh, nothing… What’s my name?

**Tuncay: **Callus.

**Callisto: **This is hopeless… Yikes.

_You go north to the entrance hall. Inside, You encounter Sofia speaking with Adeline and Wolfgang._

**Sofia: **You know, you both did very well at the ball last month.

**Adeline: **Really?

**Sofia: **Of course! Your dancing was incredible, Adeline.

**Wolfgang: **I enjoyed our brief dance as well, Sofia.

**Sofia: **What can I say? I know how to make the ladies happy.

**Adeline: **You’re so smooth… I’m impressed.

**Wolfgang: **You’re awesome, Sofia.

**Sofia: **Aw… Thanks, you two.

_Further into the entrance hall, You see Adrian and approach him._

**Adrian: **Professor, guess what? I’m going to be joining you from here on out! Lady Aisa told me to join you in your mission this month, and I’m going to be sticking around with you after it’s over too.

_You say You are happy to have him join You._

**Adrian: **Thanks, Professor. I won’t be letting you down!

_You go into the reception hall next, and You see Miriam talking to Rodain there._

**Rodain: **You sure are looking lovely today, Miriam.

**Miriam: **Do you really insist on going through these motions every time we meet eyes?

**Rodain: **I enjoy telling women how much I appreciate them is all.

**Miriam: **In other words, you’re hopeless.

**Rodain: **That’s not how I would put it… Just flirtatious.

**Miriam: **Of course that’s how you would say it…

_You move to the knights’ hall, where You see Yuliya speaking with Cordelia._

**Cordelia: **Yuliya, are you alright? You’ve been getting more and more exhausted over time.

**Yuliya: **I’ve been doing night shift at least three times a week for ages.

**Cordelia: **Who’s been assigning you to do that?

**Yuliya: **I thought it was you.

**Cordelia: **No, not at all… Must be your faction’s commander. I’ll take care of it.

**Yuliya: **Huh… That went a lot better than I expected.

_Next, You go to the stables. Once there, You encounter Magnolia and Falon. You ask them about Crescent._

**Magnolia: **Crescent? I’m afraid I haven’t heard anything about them… Sorry to disappoint, Professor.

**Falon: **I don’t know anything about a person with that name either.

**Magnolia: **Is anything else on your mind?

_You ask about Rhian next._

**Falon: **Rhian… Hm. I don’t know anybody by that name either.

**Magnolia: **I hope you find out what you’re looking for soon enough.

**Falon: **Good luck, Professor!

_You make your way to the cathedral next. You see Chris standing alone on the bridge there. You ask her about Crescent._

**Chris: **Ah… I actually do know someone with that name…

_You ask who it is._

**Chris: **Um… Me. That’s my full name. I haven’t gone by it in over twelve years, but that’s what official records say at the palace. My father is the only one to use it, but he stopped at the request of another.

**Seraphine: **No way…! Ask if she knows about Rhian!

_You ask about Rhian next._

**Chris: **Hm… No, I don’t know anything about someone by that name. Sorry to disappoint you, Professor.

**Seraphine: **I guess it was just a coincidence… That stinks… Back to square one for us.

_Inside the cathedral, You encounter William, Lev, and Cedric, who are all standing together._

**William: **The school year is getting close to its end…

**Lev: **Two moons from now, we’ll be preparing for graduation… After this moon’s mission, we’ll only have one mission left.

**Cedric: **Time sure does pass quickly… So much has changed since we began our studies here.

**Lev: **I’m going to miss everyone after we split up…

**Cedric: **We’ll all just have to stay in touch.

**William: **I know I’ll never forget our time here.. I’ll hold these memories dearly forever.

_You encounter Erika inside the cathedral._

**Erika: **Professor… Herwig has already told me much about you. I am impressed you have a connection to Sirius. I hope you are using it well.

_You nod._

**Erika: **This church is so different from what I am used to… I hope it gets better soon…

_You offer to help her if she needs anything._

**Erika: **Thank you for the offer, Professor.

_You walk up to Janae, who is also in the cathedral._

**Janae: **We have much to discuss, Professor… I’m unsure as to if we can discuss it now though. I will speak to you later…

_You nod and ask her if she knows anything about Crescent._

**Janae: **I… I do… Crescent is what I once named my child… Unfortunately, it is widely believed they died. If you think Crescent holds the answers you seek, you would be mistaken.

_You ask about Rhian next._

**Janae: **I know little of one named Rhian… But I heard whispers from a few Adrestian priestesses after leaving Emperor Hendrix’s court. Rhian was the name of a daughter of Lord Thaddeus Bazler… Unfortunately, she is suspected to have been killed in a horrible incident alongside her mother. I pray this information helps.

_You thank her for the help. You move to the second floor. You see Reese and Jill conversing soon after You arrive there._

**Reese: **This year has gone by in the blink of an eye…

**Jill: **So much more has happened this year compared to years past.

**Reese: **Instead of defeating bandits, we have actual enemies to deal with.

**Jill: **It’s unfortunate… I hope nothing happens for the rest of the year.

**Reese: **Me too… Though I somehow doubt we’ll be that lucky.

**Jill: **As much as I hate to admit it, you’re likely right…

_You head to the commons room, and inside, You run into Herwig and Nesreen._

**Herwig: **How have you been adjusting since settling in as a part-time student?

**Nesreen: **It’s a lot less troublesome than I would have expected.

**Herwig: **I’m willing to take that as a win.

**Nesreen: **How about your sister? Is she settling in well?

**Herwig: **It… It will take time, but I’m sure she’ll be alright.

**Nesreen: **That’s a good thing, I suppose…

_You leave the commons room to go to the library, where You encounter Niko and Derric._

**Niko: **Derric, why are you so pale?

**Derric: **Mother and Father have stopped sending letters to me.

**Niko: **What’s so odd about that? They don’t care for one son, so maybe they’ve finally given up on being good parents.

**Derric: **They’ve been exchanging letters with me about life ever since I moved here… For them to stop like this is unnatural.

**Niko: **Hm… How odd…

**Derric: **I wonder what’s going on with them…

_Finally, You move to the audience chamber to speak with Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **Janae McCreary… She’s been settling in rather well since coming here.

**Roy: **However, she seems to be on edge at times…

**Aisa: **I have noticed that as well. Perhaps that is a side effect of living in Emperor Hendrix’s court.

**Roy: **That is far from a pleasant place to be… I hope she starts to feel better soon.

**Aisa: **I feel the same…

_You leave the audience chamber to head back to your room after finishing your exploration. You sit down on your bed upon arriving as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Crescent refers to two different people, it seems… It’s the full name of Chris, who is the leader of the Black Eagles and future leader of Adrestia. It’s also the first name of Janae’s child, who is suspected to have died a long time ago… Janae was a consort of Emperor Hendrix. It’s odd that two children with the same father would have the same name. Even if the mothers of the children remained separated, it’s odd that they would share a name if they were different people in the same proximity.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **Honestly, I would propose that Chris is her daughter, but that has a few problems… For one, there’s about a four year age gap in between Chris and Janae’s child. Even if Janae’s child is still alive, those four years can’t be ignored. It’s odd that Janae’s child died around the same time that Chris was announced as heir to the throne though… It seems fishy. It’s like one person picked up where the other one left off…

_You point out Janae’s odd behavior from the moon before._

**Seraphine: **That’s the other problem I was thinking about. Janae said it was impossible that Chris was eighteen… There’s so many things that don’t add up here. We’re close to finding out the truth, but it’s barely out of reach… I bet the Crescent in question refers to Janae’s child in this case. Chris hasn’t gone by that name in over twelve years. She told us that herself. Even so, perhaps it is her… The timeline might add up… I don’t know! Everything is just weird!

_You give Seraphine a moment to calm down._

**Seraphine: **After that, there’s Rhian… She was a daughter of Thaddeus Bazler. However, she is suspected to have died in a murder case… Tracking anything about her is going to be difficult. She could have been on Bazler’s estate, but how do we know for sure? Besides, if she died a long time ago, nobody would bother keeping records about her. Even what Janae told us seemed unreliable since it was all based around rumors… I wish we knew more about both Rhian and Crescent, but I somehow doubt we’ll be finding out more.

_You frown and admit that she has likely right._

**Seraphine: **We can go over what we have now as many times as we want, but I don’t think it will help us out. Until we can get another piece of the puzzle, we aren’t going to be finding out anything else… Let’s get to bed. The longer I think about this, the greater my headache gets… I don’t even know if spirits can get headaches, but I feel like if I could get one, it would be like this.

_You agree with Seraphine and lay down. Seraphine disappears into thin air. It takes You a while to fall asleep, focusing on what everything You have learned could mean. Crescent and Rhian drift in and out of your consciousness, but You do not know what either of them could mean in the grand scheme of things. However, You lack the information needed to find the answers You seek, so You let sleep claim You. However, your slumber is restless, and You long to know more than the world has provided You… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOOOOOOO LAST VERSION OF CHAPTER TEN
> 
> Next week, it is time for chapter eleven. That'll be neat. 
> 
> Also, I've started posting paralogues for part one! I'm going to be doing the last two over the next two days, and then Cindered Shadows will be starting! Can I get a hell yeah?
> 
> -Digital


	67. Chapter Ten: Artificial Strength II (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Golden Deer set out for your mission, meeting some peculiar figures when You arrive.

_The day of the mission, You wake up and see Seraphine beside You._

**Seraphine: **I have a bad feeling about all of this… I don’t know how to describe it. Be sure to bring Sirius along today, alright? I don’t want to lose because we don’t have it.

_You take Seraphine’s advice and grab Sirius from its place against the wall. You know it is odd for Seraphine to be so uncomfortable, so You decide to take her words to heart. She disappears as You sheath the blade and place it at your hip. You walk to the Golden Deer classroom as soon as You are finished. Inside, You see the students alongside Jill, Kaeta, Nesreen, Yuliya, and Adrian._

**Jill: **Well, it’s time to figure out what those mages have been up to.

**Adeline: **I really want to know what’s going on.

**Cedric: **We’ll be sure to find out more today.

**Nesreen: **Lady Aisa wants as much information as we can gather.

**Novalee: **They won’t escape this time.

**Sofia: **They were lucky before, but that won’t apply this time.

**William: **The Church of Seiros will make sure they don’t get away.

**Lev:** The idea of this doesn’t sit well with me.

**Raithius:** Don’t worry a bit, Lev. I’ll be here to keep you safe.

**Wolfgang: **Should we get going now?

**Kaeta: **I don’t see a reason not to.

**Yuliya: **Welcome to the hell hole, Adrian.

**Adrian: **I’m sure I’ll have fun here.

**Reese: **Is everyone prepared for the coming battle?

**Novalee: **I believe that to be the case, yes.

**Adeline: **I wish I knew what was waiting for us.

**Sofia: **They could have Crests, as much as I hate to say it.

**William: **We’ll get a reason why if that is the case.

**Cedric: **Since there aren’t any people at risk of dying, the church will pursue them no matter what.

**Lev: **I’m impressed you can be so confident.

**Wolfgang: **We’ve got this. Promise.

**Raithius: **Why are we still here? Let’s get to it!

**Yuliya: **Probably because you kids wanted to talk for a little while longer.

**Nesreen: **Let’s stop that then.

**Kaeta: **Of course!

**Adrian: **I’m happy to lend my aid to you for the time being.

**Raithius: **If we’re all ready, let’s head out. The battle awaits us.

_You nod and watch as the group leaves the room. You take up the tail end of the party, though You pause when You hear a voice behind You._

**Janae: **W-Wait!

_You turn around to face her._

**Janae: **I… I would like to come with you. I fear we will be unable to speak unless we are both free of the monastery, and now is the best time… May I accompany you on your mission?

**Seraphine: **If this will get us some answers, of course. I want to know what’s going on.

_You nod to Janae._

**Janae: **Thank you, Professor… I can heal you and your students should the need arise. I won’t let you down.

_You thank her for the offer as she scurries away to walk with the rest of the group._

**Seraphine: **After this fight ends, we’ll actually get some answers… All the more reason to get this over with as soon as possible.

_You nod your agreement and follow the rest of the group out of Garreg Mach._

_You arrive in Adrestia a few hours later. Your group stands in a barren outdoor space._

**Jill: **This seems to be the place the church told us about.

**Novalee: **They were hiding underground before… Perhaps they’re doing that again.

**Adeline: **Maybe there’s a switch around here to open the passage.

**Cedric: **How could they do something so complicated…?

**William: **This tree is rather odd… There we go!

_A switch is hit on the tree, and a door opens from the yellow grass below._

**Sofia: **It seems we found it…

**Wolfgang: **I’ve never seen anything like this before.

**Lev: **It’s far from basic, that’s for sure.

**Raithius: **I hope we find answers down there…

**Nesreen: **Get in, everyone. We have to see what’s going on.

**Yuliya: **Those mages aren’t going to wait for us long.

**Adrian: **We should be ready for an ambush.

**Kaeta: **If they try anything, we’ll take care of them.

**Janae: **Be careful, everyone… I don’t want you to get hurt.

_You watch as the rest of the group files down the stairs into the depths of the passageway. You follow them as Seraphine speaks to You._

**Seraphine: **My bad feeling is only getting worse… Be careful down there, alright?

_You agree to stay safe as You follow your party underground. The group is silent as everyone walks through the passage. However, the path soon widens out to show a much larger space. It consists of a large room filled with many soldiers. Each one is wearing ragged clothes and appears to be suffering by merely standing still. Clumps of hair are on the ground, and splatters of blood paint the floor. Many of the fighters have bright white hair. The soldiers do not appear to have been washed in weeks, perhaps months. The sight brings You shock._

**Jill: **What is all of this…?!

**Adeline: **They look like they’re in so much pain.

**Sofia: **This is where the mages should be though…

**William: **Are these meant to be our rivals?

**Kaeta: **I wish I could give you an answer…

**Wolfgang: **I doubt they came here of their own free will…

**Cedric: **Perhaps the one who brought them here is our real enemy.

**Raithius: **I won’t let them get away with this. No way in hell.

**Yuliya: **This is inhumane…

**Adrian: **What could have happened to them? I doubt this happened naturally.

**Novalee: **This is beyond awful.

**Nesreen: **I never would have expected this.

**Janae: **We need to heal them immediately…

**Lev: **Someone is heading towards us!

_A pair of figures come into view soon after Lev speaks. One of them is a taller man with lavender hair. He has a similar appearance to Illona. His clothing is much nicer than everyone else’s, and it is clear he has more than enough money to spare. The second person is much more familiar, and You recognize her as soon as she appears: Evenor Hepius._

**Man: **I thought you said we were meant to be alone.

**Evenor: **I assumed we would be… But it seems the Church of Seiros is nosier than we thought.

**Janae: **Y-You…!

_If the Golden Deer were followed during Chapter Two: The Wandering Scholar, this dialogue plays out._

**Jill: **Ms. Hepius… Why are you here?

**Novalee: **Did she do this?

**Adeline: **But she was supposed to be on our side…!

**Sofia: **I suppose not…

**Lev: **This is… No…

**Raithius: **This can’t be happening, right…?!

**Cedric: **She was never our ally in the first place…

**Wolfgang: **Monstrous!

**William: **Tell us what’s going on! Now!

_If the Golden Deer were not followed during Chapter Two: The Wandering Scholar, this dialogue plays out._

**Janae: **It has been years since I saw you, Evenor… Not long enough.

**Jill: **Evenor… Evenor Hepius…

**Novalee: **It seems so…

**Adeline: **But she was supposed to be on our side…!

**Sofia: **I suppose not…

**Lev: **This is… No…

**Raithius: **This can’t be happening, right…?!

**Cedric: **She was never our ally in the first place…

**Wolfgang: **Monstrous!

**William: **Tell us what’s going on! Now!

_Both sides of dialogue merge here._

**Janae: **You fiend! Do your crimes ever cease?!

**Evenor: **I didn’t expect to see you here of all places, Janae… I thought you never wanted to step underground ever again.

**Janae: **Because of you and what you did all those years ago!

**Seraphine: **What is she talking about…?!

**Jill: **Tell us what’s going on.

**Janae: **When she worked at the palace in Enbarr, she experimented on the children of the emperor! He wanted a child with a Crest so badly that he sent them off to be used as playthings for her human experimentation! Crescent… I don’t know what you did with them, but I swear to the Goddess Sothis herself--

**Raithius: **Don’t go after her. We can’t afford to let her use our rage against us.

**Novalee: **What did you do to these people?

**Evenor: **I did what I had to. They needed Crests by order of the emperor of Adrestia. I may have failed twelve years ago, but I refused to back down.

**Sofia: **Quit being so vague!

**Man: **I’ll leave this in your capable hands, Evenor.

_The man disappears in a puff of dark magic._

**Lev: **This is horrible…

**Wolfgang: **Quit holding out on us!

**Evenor: **The emperor of Adrestia wanted a child with a Crest. Unfortunately, none of them happened to have one by birth. His desperation grew, and he asked me to indulge in other methods… Granted, they weren’t uncommon even before his rule.

**Adeline: **You’ve been experimenting on people for years…

**Wolfgang: **Filth… That’s the only word to describe you.

**Janae: **You likely killed my child! Crescent was ripped from my arms because of you! Tell me… What did you do to them?!

**Evenor: **The Crescent you know died long ago beneath the palace of Adrestia.

**Janae: **I… No…

**Cedric: **The experimentation did it… It killed your child, and likely many others, on top of causing others to be driven to insanity.

**Seraphine: **Why would Evenor do all of this? This was before she took you in, but… It’s insane!

**Nesreen: **Nothing can make up for the sins you have committed… You are a monster.

**Evenor: **Results matter above all else… If they aren’t strong enough to endure, so be it.

**Kaeta: **I can’t believe you can be so casual about killing people!

**Yuliya: **I’ll have to carve your heart from your chest myself…

**Adrian: **I’ve had enough of standing around…! Let’s end this already!

**Evenor: **Perhaps the time has come… Fallen children of the emperor! Rise!

_The soldiers in the room all stand to attention._

**Evenor: **I gave you Crests so that you may be valued. Your recovery may not be complete, but I order you to defend me!

**Seraphine: **Wait… Remember how we learned there were a bunch of children born of the emperor years ago? These must be all those kids! They were presumed dead, but they were stolen away by Evenor to be experimented on… Even if she was watching after for years, she could have had that man watching over them! And… Some of them died in the process… If Evenor took an interest in you, does this mean you are an experiment of the Empire as well? This can’t be… I-I…

**Raithius: **Golden Deer! We won’t let her get away! Make sure she’s captured or killed!

_The battle begins. You turn your attention towards Evenor._

**Evenor: **I have had enough of this infernal skin…

_Evenor’s appearance drastically changes. Her skin grows much paler, and her hair becomes white. She appears ancient and only halfway human._

**Raithius: **Woah… What is she…?!

**Evenor: **You shall not escape this place… Not as long as I have a say in it!

_You focus back on the fight at hand. Scattered throughout the battlefield are weakened soldiers. Their movements are unnatural, as if they have no control of their bodies. You assume this is a result of the experimentation. They have random Crests as well, though none bear the Crest of Flames or Unio. The Golden Deer defeat the enemies, taking mercy on these shattered souls to give them rest after their time in perpetual agony. You fight alongside them, using the might of Sirius to defend yourself. You remain close to Janae, who is healing your troops from the back of the group._

_If You initiate combat with Evenor, this dialogue plays out._

**Evenor: **You were the one person I didn’t wish to fight… You must forgive me for this, Rion… Please, join me… You do not wish to? I… I apologize for what I must do.

_If Raithius initiates combat with Evenor, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **Where did all of your fighters come from?

**Evenor: **Descendants of the Faixnoye family… There are countless people like that, you know.

**Raithius: **What?

**Evenor: **Before Crest experimentation rose, having more children to find one with a Crest was common… But those who didn’t have one were exiled. Those children made families, and when I told them the truth, they wanted what they should have had from birth.

**Raithius: **In other words, you manipulated them.

**Evenor: **Perhaps… However, that is a debate for another day. For now, it’s time for you to meet your final resting place, son of Leicester!

_If Novalee initiates combat with Evenor, this dialogue plays out._

**Novalee: **You are the lowest breed of human.

**Evenor: **Say whatever you wish about me… My successes cannot be denied.

**Novalee: **Is that really all you care about? Successes? Advances?

**Evenor: **I do not have to justify myself to you… Let’s end this.

_If Adrian initiates combat with Evenor, this dialogue plays out._

**Adrian: **You… You are a monster.

**Evenor: **So I have heard.

**Adrian: **What gives you the right to kidnap people, imprison them, and use them as test subjects for your sick experiments?!

**Evenor: **If people want Crests, I am happy to provide… I am a top Crest scholar on this continent. I can give anyone a Crest with minimal side effects.

**Adrian: **At what cost?!

**Evenor: **That is none of my concern, nor should it be any of yours.

**Adrian: **Enough talking! Let’s finish this!

_If anyone else initiates combat with Evenor, this dialogue plays out._

**Evenor: **You will pay for trespassing into my testing space.

_If You defeat Evenor, this dialogue plays out._

**Evenor: **Rion… You should be with me, not against me…

_When Evenor is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Evenor: **Do not think this is a victory for you…

_After the battle, You stand with your forces around Evenor._

**Raithius: **It all ends here. You can die or be captured. Your choice.

**Evenor: **I think not.

**Janae: **You… I can’t believe you are still causing so many issues to this world! How many have you killed in your quest of ‘results’?!

**Evenor: **That numbers matters not.

**Janae: **That number means everything… Since my child was one of them!

_Janae grabs a discarded sword from the ground, dashing towards Evenor. Evenor ducks underneath her slash before showing a dagger and swiftly stabbing Janae in the abdomen. Janae gasps in shock before collapsing to the ground._

**Evenor: **I’m finished with you… All of you.

_Evenor summons a fireball and throws it onto the ground, causing a violent fire to break down, fueled by the numerous papers on the floor._

**Wolfgang: **She’s going to burn the hideout with us inside!

**Evenor: **Goodbye, pests.

_Evenor vanishes in a puff of dark magic. You rush forward to Janae’s side, picking her up. You attempt to use Divine Pulse to undo this action. Time resumes as normal right when Janae gets stabbed again. Words echo around You, but You are unable to focus on them. You attempt again and again to use Divine Pulse, but it fails each time to save Janae from getting hurt._

**Seraphine: **I can’t go back any further… We’ll have to help her in this timeline if we can’t fix it! Come on!

_You focus on Janae’s figure as the other students swarm You to see if she is alright. Tears rise in your eyes, but they do not fall._

**Adeline: **Let me in! I will do all I can to save her!

_Adeline attempts to heal Janae._

**Yuliya: **I’m so glad I remembered my medical supplies today…

**Nesreen: **We don’t have time to waste. We have to get back to the monastery.

**Kaeta: **Lady Aisa can do something to help her.

**Jill: **Go to the exit! Now!

**Novalee: **Follow me!

**Sofia: **How is there so much smoke already…?!

**William: **We can’t wait too long!

**Cedric: **Leave behind the remaining papers! Our lives are more important than evidence!

_The students burst outside soon after they arrive above ground. As soon as the last person leaves the area, the hatch down into the hideout shuts._

**Raithius: **Goddess… My chest burns…

**Adrian: **Is everyone alright…?!

**Lev: **Will Janae be alright?

**Jill: **Honestly, I’m not sure right now. Let’s get back to the monastery.

**Raithius: **Got it, Professor.

_The students start to dash away from the area. You look down to Janae, seeing how pale she already appears. Yuliya and Adeline’s actions have already helped, but she is still unconscious._

**Seraphine: **I… I don’t want to think about what just happened. I just want to make sure she survives. Come on. Let’s go.

_Your party hurries back to the monastery. Upon arriving, You take Janae to the infirmary. Jill dashes alongside You. You set down Janae on a bed before turning to Jill._

**Jill: **I’ll do all that I can. Go find Lady Aisa.

_You run to find Aisa. You see her in the audience chamber._

**Aisa: **Professor, what’s wrong? You seem flushed.

_You explain what happened and tell her to go to the infirmary._

**Aisa: **I understand… Stay here. I’ll come get you as soon as I have an update on the situation.

_You nod and remain in the audience chamber. You wait there for what feels like an eternity until Aisa returns._

**Aisa: **I have good news and bad news… Janae McCreary will yet live. She will survive, but… I am unsure as to when she will wake up. I am currently sustaining her with a small amount of magic. I’m glad she arrived when she did… I don’t know if she would have survived if she had arrived any later.

_You thank Aisa for her help._

**Aisa: **It is no issue… I would advise giving the professors some space for the night. Herwig and Reese sent the rest of the students to their rooms. The students were all in a hazy chaos. The students who went with you were exhausted, and those who didn’t were incredibly worried. You do not need to go back to the classroom to report to them.

_You nod your understanding._

**Aisa: **I… I heard the story from Reese soon after he arrived in the infirmary. Evenor Hepius betrayed us… In truth, she was performing human experiments on the disowned descendants of the Faixnoye line to try and give them Crests. Others who longed for Crests were also taken in. It seems her experiments were successful… However, they had a horrible toll on the test subjects psychologically, and they were all harmed horribly by the work. If the experiments were performed even slightly incorrectly, their bodies were mangled. If they weren’t harmed physically, their mental health suffered horribly… Her crimes will never be forgotten. If she ever shows her face again, we will have no choice but to kill her.

_You agree with her._

**Aisa: **You may be dismissed for the night… I know sleep will not come easy, but I wish you the best.

_You thank Aisa before leaving the audience chamber. You start to walk back to your room as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Evenor harmed countless people before taking us in… I have to wonder if we fell victim to her actions as well. Did she kidnap us to be a test subject? It would explain how we got two Crests when most other people only have one… It can’t be natural… I feel sick just thinking of it… All this time, I thought she was a good person who looked after us when we had no one, but this was not the case.

_You look at the ground._

**Seraphine: **Then there’s Janae… Evenor killed her child. Crescent… I feel awful for them… She was so overcome with rage that she wanted to murder Evenor, and after hearing about all she did… I can’t blame her… I feel sick thinking about all this.

_You lay down on your bed after arriving in your room._

**Seraphine: **Goodnight, Professor… I hope you feel better tomorrow…

_It doesn’t take You long to fall asleep, as You were far more exhausted than You ever could have realized. You feel tears appear on your face soon before You sleep, and You are unsure as to if You are crying for Crescent, Janae, Evenor’s betrayal, or some combination. However, You do know that the future is uncertain, and the idea of facing it makes You feel anxious and sick… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, we'll be starting chapter eleven! Only eight more weeks of updates remain until we're finished with part one. Everything's getting crazy, yall. 
> 
> -Digital


	68. Chapter Eleven: Betrayal from Peace I (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and your students plan to quell another rebellion in the Empire.

_You wake up at the start of the Pegasus Moon. You can feel your body aching as You rise from slumber. You remember what happened at the end of the previous moon after your last mission, and You feel your heart throb. Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **I don’t think it’s ever been quite so hard to get out of bed in the morning… I wonder what the archbishop has for us today.

_You say You are curious as well._

**Seraphine: **I know it’s hard, but… I believe in you. You can do this. Everybody is here to support you and Janae. She’ll recover soon. You heard Lady Aisa. It’ll all be fine… Yeah… All fine…

_You nod and rise to your feet. You walk to the audience chamber as Seraphine disappears. For once, she is at a loss for words. You arrive at the audience chamber and open the door slowly._

**Aisa: **Good morning, Professor…

**Roy: **You look exhausted… I doubt you slept well.

_You admit You had trouble resting._

**Roy: **I understand that.

**Aisa: **A lot has happened… Do take your time in recovering.

_You nod and ask what the next mission will be._

**Aisa: **Another noble from Adrestia has risen in rebellion.

**Roy: **He… He is the father of Derric and Niko.

_You stare with wide eyes in surprise._

**Aisa: **Maxwell Lavellan-Indech claimed to be loyal to the church for many years, but he cut off all contact last month in favor of turning his sights towards the throne of the Empire.

**Roy: **The emperor is far from pleased, as I’m sure you would imagine… He wants us to stomp out the rebellion.

**Aisa: **However, he will not be giving your party the briefing this month.

**Roy: **He refuses to do so after ‘being embarrassed the last time’.

**Aisa: **Professor, the time has come to select a house for the month. Who do you wish to follow?

_You think on it briefly before deciding on the Golden Deer._

**Roy: **Will you follow the Golden Deer?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I see…

**Roy: **Perhaps you should go to see them at this time.

_You start to head for the door when Aisa’s voice stops You._

**Aisa: **Professor?

_You turn to face her._

**Aisa: **If you are still worried about Janae McCreary… You do not need to be. She will be fine. As long as I draw breath, she will survive… And I don’t plan on dying anytime soon.

_You nod your understanding._

**Aisa: **It will be alright… If you need anything, all of us are here for you. Understood?

_You thank her for the offer before leaving. Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **I never would have expected to get so attached to her so soon… We only met her last month, and yet… I feel strangely empty. Surely, you feel the same.

_You confirm her suspicions._

**Seraphine: **She isn’t even dead… She’ll wake up one day, but… I don’t know. I can’t help but feel awful thinking about all that happened.

_You say that You feel the same._

**Seraphine: **I hope she wakes up soon… I want to know what she wanted to talk to us about. I know that should be my last concern right now when she nearly died, but…

_You tell her You understand._

**Seraphine: **Thank you… It seems I’m no good with words… You should go and see your students. We can talk more later, alright?

_You nod as she disappears. You make your way to the Golden Deer homeroom, though your whole body feels heavy. You wish for nothing more than to crawl back into bed and sleep the pain away._

**Jill: **Good morning, Professor…

**Raithius: **How are you feeling?

_You tell him that You will be fine._

**Adeline: **It’s okay to not be alright… You don’t need to lie to us.

**William: **All of us are here for you. I promise.

**Cedric: **Precisely. This is the least we could do for our dear professor who does so much for us already.

**Lev: **Yeah… We’ll always support you.

**Wolfgang: **And we won’t let Malice get away with all they’ve done.

**Sofia: **They’ve done enough as it is.

**Novalee: **Their path will end soon.

**Jill: **What is our mission for the month?

_You explain what Aisa told You._

**William: **Another rebellion… And this time, it’s someone people here at the monastery are connected to.

**Adeline: **How awful… What could have brought this on?

**Cedric: **Lord Lavellan-Indech is failing in his duties to protect the people of his territory if he is waging battle against the emperor.

**Lev: **I can’t blame him for disliking the man, but… It seems a bit selfish.

**Wolfgang: **Regardless of what we think, we have to stop him.

**Sofia: **I’m glad we’re all on the same page there…

**Novalee: **What do you say, Lord Raithius?

**Raithius: **We have to end this as soon as possible.

**Jill: **A lot has happened as of late… Stay out of trouble, alright? I don’t want any of you getting hurt.

**Lev: **We’re so close to graduation… It wouldn’t do for anyone to die so close to the end of the year when we have our whole lives ahead of us.

**Cedric: **Let’s all make a pact to stay alive then.

**Wolfgang: **I somehow doubt any of us will object to that one.

**Sofia: **That applies to you as well, Professor… Stay safe, okay?

_You nod._

**Adeline: **Perhaps we should disband for the time being… We all have a lot of thinking to do.

**William: **I agree… It seems like everything just keeps getting faster around us.

**Novalee: **Time stops for no one… Try as we might to fight it, time will press on no matter what.

**Raithius: **It’s unfortunate… If only we could change the past…

**Jill: **Class dismissed. Be careful out there, everyone.

_The students all leave aside from Raithius, who approaches You slowly._

**Raithius: **I know you’re going through a rough time right now, and if you need anything, we’re all here for you. You got that?

_You thank him._

**Raithius: **I can tell you need some time to yourself, so I’ll leave you be, but… I just wanted you to know that. I’ll see you later, Professor.

_Raithius leaves. Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **What good kids… I’m glad we have their support through all of this…

_You agree._

**Seraphine: **Well… I guess it’s time to start looking around the monastery. Let’s go see what’s happening, alright?

_You nod as Seraphine disappears. Your heart is heavy, but You pray that seeing your students and coworkers will help to cheer You up. If it fails, You are unsure as to if anything will work to ease the burden on your mind and spirit…_

_You encounter Magnolia and Falon in the courtyard of the Officers Academy._

**Magnolia: **I… I am sorry about what happened on the mission, Professor.

**Falon: **We won’t let Evenor get away with this… She’s a fiend for what she has done.

**Magnolia: **Ms. McCreary will be avenged.

**Falon: **That much we can swear.

_You see Cedric and Lev in the Golden Deer homeroom._

**Cedric: **I knew betrayal existed, but… I didn’t expect to experience it in this way.

**Lev: **She meant to stab everyone in the back from the start…

**Cedric: **How did she find out so much about Crests? Did others pay for it with their lives?

**Lev: **Somehow, I assume so…

**Cedric: **Monster… She’s nothing short of a monster.

**Lev: **I’m glad we agree on that.

_You leave the Officers Academy to go to the training hall. Inside, You see Reese and Cordelia speaking._

**Reese: **Evenor’s betrayal truly is unfortunate…

**Cordelia: **She must have been involved with those mages who stole away Florence and Herwig.

**Reese: **I want to know her motivation for such… Why would she bother?

**Cordelia: **I don’t think it matters at this point… I just want her head on a silver platter.

**Reese: **Crimes against humanity will not go unforgiven.

**Cordelia: **I agree fully.

_You move to the bottom floor of dorms. There, You see Zelhira and Hegias._

**Zelhira: **How are you holding up?

**Hegias: **I can’t believe she would do all of that… To us… To me.

**Zelhira: **You never knew about any of this, did you?

**Hegias: **N-No… Not at all.

**Zelhira: **I want to know what she’s thinking… Why go so far?

**Hegias: **I don’t know… But I have to ask… Did she ever care about me in the first place…?

_You go upstairs, and at the end of the second floor’s row of dorms, You see Chris and Polly standing together._

**Chris: **I don’t understand… Why did such a kind soul have to be hurt in that last fight?

**Polly: **Ms. McCreary will recover.

**Chris: **I know, but… Then there’s the matter of Evenor… I can’t help but wonder if I was somehow involved in her descent into madness.

**Polly: **Even if you were, it wouldn’t be your fault. She chose to go down this path.

**Chris: **Yeah… You’re right…

**Polly: **It doesn’t mean she’ll get away with it though…

_You head back downstairs, and You go into the greenhouse. Inside, You see Aestlyn and Kyle together._

**Aestlyn: **So much has happened… I just want it all to stop.

**Kyle: **Do you think you’ll be alright, Aestlyn?

**Aestlyn: **One day… One day, I will be…

**Kyle: **Do you need anything…?

**Aestlyn: **I… I just want to be alone. Excuse me…

**Kyle: **…

_You see Adeline and William together near the fishing hole._

**William: **Professor… It’s nice to see you.

**Adeline: **We’ve been doing some research on the blade Sirius.

**William: **We found out that it first appeared centuries ago, but none were ever able to use it.

**Adeline: **It seemed to be partially compatible with a lot of Crests, but none could use it fully.

**William: **I guess it bonded with the conglomerate Crest that you have…

**Adeline: **You’re the only one who can use it then… I know you will bear it well.

_You move to the dining hall, and once there, You see Nesreen and Adrian together._

**Adrian: **I went on many missions last year, but none of them were like that.

**Nesreen: **I doubt this peace will last for much longer.

**Adrian: **I never thought I would see war, but…

**Nesreen: **It seems to be coming.

**Adrian: **As much as I hate to admit it… Yes…

**Nesreen: **Here’s to hoping it doesn’t actually happen…

_You see Herwig speaking with Jill just outside the dining hall._

**Herwig: **I’ve been trying to find out more about Evenor’s Crest experimentation, but… I’ve got nothing.

**Jill: **She’s clearly been doing it for a long time, but I don’t know how she covered it up.

**Herwig: **Somebody powerful must have helped her.

**Jill: **The Adrestian Empire has a lot to answer for…

**Herwig: **I can agree with that fully.

_After finishing in the dining hall, You move to the marketplace, where You run into Tuncay and Aquillus._

**Aquillus: **I can’t help but feel bad for Hegias…

**Tuncay: **That Crest scholar got him into this school. Now, he hears she’s always meant to stab him in the back…

**Aquillus: **I must ask… Do you think she did anything to him along the way?

**Tuncay: **It wouldn’t surprise me… Hedges, what happened to you…?

_Inside the stables, You see Nora and Karim._

**Karim: **The world seems to be moving so fast, huh?

**Nora: **You can say that again… The year is almost over.

**Karim: **Plus, we’ve got the betrayal, Ms. McCreary being attacked…

**Nora: **So much is taking place… I just pray it doesn’t get any worse…

_You go to the entrance hall, where You encounter Wolfgang and Sofia speaking._

**Wolfgang: **Sofia, what are you planning on doing after this year is over?

**Sofia: **Probably going home… What about you?

**Wolfgang: **Same… I just… Do you think we can stay in contact even after the year has ended?

**Sofia: **I don’t see why not… I’d love to stay in contact with you.

**Wolfgang: **I appreciate that, Sofia.

**Sofia: **It’s no problem.

_Also in the entrance hall, You see Yuliya and Miriam._

**Miriam: **I can’t help but wonder how Faerghus will be impacted by the ascension of the princess after this school year…

**Yuliya: **The war with Albinea will undoubtedly continue… Faerghus can’t seem to get enough of war.

**Miriam: **Perhaps she will bring about change…

**Yuliya: **Do you really believe that?

**Miriam: **Hope is worth it every once in a while.

**Yuliya: **If you say so…

_You continue north to the reception hall. Inside, You see Raithius speaking with Novalee._

**Raithius: **Sirius… It’s supposedly only linked partially to most Crests, though it seems to embrace Unio.

**Novalee: **I wonder… It was constructed a hundred years ago.

**Raithius: **You think it was made parallel to the start of experimentation? After all, Unio can exist only through experimentation.

**Novalee: **Precisely… I have no evidence, but it is a possibility.

**Raithius: **I feel the same…

**Novalee: **Perhaps we will find more answers soon.

_Next, You see Kaeta and Wynne talking._

**Kaeta: **After this year, I’ll hopefully become an official knight…

**Wynne: **I’d certainly say you’ve done enough work to join the party.

**Kaeta: **I can’t wait to finally become a Knight of Seiros… I’ve waited ages for this time to come.

**Wynne: **I’m proud of you, Kaeta. You’re going to do great.

**Kaeta: **Aw… Thanks, Wynne.

**Wynne: **No problem.

_You head towards the cathedral. On the bridge, You see Piers and Rodain._

**Piers: **I saw you flirting with women in the local town again.

**Rodain: **It really isn’t a big deal…

**Piers: **Why do you insist on doing this?

**Rodain: **Why do you insist on getting involved with my business?

**Piers: **Just… Try to calm it down, alright?

**Rodain: **Okay then, wet blanket… Consider it an order.

_Inside the cathedral proper, You see Callisto and Florence discussing something._

**Callisto: **I want to know how many people were given Crests via experimentation under Evenor’s guidance.

**Florence: **The process must be traumatizing… Nobody would ever be the same again.

**Callisto: **No person deserves to go through that, much less children…

**Florence: **Anyone who finds that morally justifiable disgusts me.

**Callisto: **Ugh… If the goddess decided to get rid of humans, I wouldn’t blame her.

**Florence: **Neither would I.

_You see Erika standing alone inside the cathedral as well._

**Erika: **I-I… I never knew Janae all that well… She seemed to be running from the past, never able to sit still… However, she was at her most relaxed around you. Her connection with you was something I never could have expected, though I am glad it brought her so much joy… You mean a lot to her. Please, stay safe until she awakens once more.

_You promise to do so._

**Erika: **You have my thanks.

_You go upstairs, and You see Illona and Cassia standing together._

**Cassia: **Illona, you’ve been acting rather odd ever since the mission’s report got out.

**Illona: **It’s nothing…

**Cassia: **I recall hearing of a man with your hair color, you know…

**Illona: **I-I don’t know anything about it! P-Please, just… Give me some time, okay…?

**Cassia: **Of course… But if you need anything, I am here to listen.

**Illona: **I-I understand…

_You move to the library, where You see Derric and Niko._

**Derric: **Is… Is it true? Are our parents actually starting a rebellion?

**Niko: **It seems to be the case… I never would have imagined this.

**Derric: **It can’t be real, right?

**Niko: **I always knew they could get thirsty for power, but… I didn’t think it would go this far.

**Derric: **Defying the emperor… That is treason… If they even survive this fight, Emperor Hendrix will have them executed.

**Niko: **A lot has happened… Just thinking about it makes me feel sick.

_Finally, You arrive in the audience chamber, where You see Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **You are here to ask for updates on Janae’s condition, yes?

**Roy: **She is still asleep… I doubt she will wake up anytime soon.

**Aisa: **However, she will survive, which is what matters most…

**Roy: **We’ll tell you if anything changes, alright?

_You thank them and start to head to your room as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Just thinking about what happened to Janae, I… I wish we could have done more… Regardless of if Evenor raised you or not, she committed unspeakable horrors. She is likely the reason we have two Crests… Part of me believes that you were a test subject in her experiments… We might not have all the facts yet, but that will change, and when it does… We’ll have to end her life for all she has done… The Evenor of our memories no longer exists. I highly doubt she ever existed in the first place… But reminiscence matters not before sins against humanity. It will all end soon, and I will be satisfied when it does.

_Seraphine disappears when You arrive at your room. You lay down, though it takes You a long time to fall asleep. Conflicted thoughts about Evenor, Janae, and Sirius rush through your head, and You find that You cannot make sense of them. Sleep takes You over eventually, though your rest is fitful and painful. The burden on your soul has not yet lifted, and You feel as if You are being crushed under its weight… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update is coming a bit earlier than usual, but I felt like stepping outside the box a bit tonight. It's Friday in my timezone, even if it's still Thursday in a lot of places, so you guys are getting chapter eleven now. Neat. 
> 
> -Digital


	69. Chapter Eleven: Betrayal from Peace I (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and your students plan to quell another rebellion in the Empire.

_You wake up at the start of the Pegasus Moon. You can feel your body aching as You rise from slumber. You remember what happened at the end of the previous moon after your last mission, and You feel your heart throb. Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **I don’t think it’s ever been quite so hard to get out of bed in the morning… I wonder what the archbishop has for us today.

_You say You are curious as well._

**Seraphine: **I know it’s hard, but… I believe in you. You can do this. Everybody is here to support you and Janae. She’ll recover soon. You heard Lady Aisa. It’ll all be fine… Yeah… All fine…

_You nod and rise to your feet. You walk to the audience chamber as Seraphine disappears. For once, she is at a loss for words. You arrive at the audience chamber and open the door slowly._

**Aisa: **Good morning, Professor…

**Roy: **You look exhausted… I doubt you slept well.

_You admit You had trouble resting._

**Roy: **I understand that.

**Aisa: **A lot has happened… Do take your time in recovering.

_You nod and ask what the next mission will be._

**Aisa: **Another noble from Adrestia has risen in rebellion.

**Roy: **He… He is the father of Derric and Niko.

_You stare with wide eyes in surprise._

**Aisa: **Maxwell Lavellan-Indech claimed to be loyal to the church for many years, but he cut off all contact last month in favor of turning his sights towards the throne of the Empire.

**Roy: **The emperor is far from pleased, as I’m sure you would imagine… He wants us to stomp out the rebellion.

**Aisa: **However, he will not be giving your party the briefing this month.

**Roy: **He refuses to do so after ‘being embarrassed the last time’.

**Aisa: **Professor, the time has come to select a house for the month. Who do you wish to follow?

_You think on it briefly before deciding on the Black Eagles._

**Roy: **Will you follow the Black Eagles?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I see…

**Roy: **Perhaps you should go to see them at this time.

_You start to head for the door when Aisa’s voice stops You._

**Aisa: **Professor?

_You turn to face her._

**Aisa: **If you are still worried about Janae McCreary… You do not need to be. She will be fine. As long as I draw breath, she will survive… And I don’t plan on dying anytime soon.

_You nod your understanding._

**Aisa: **It will be alright… If you need anything, all of us are here for you. Understood?

_You thank her for the offer before leaving. Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **I never would have expected to get so attached to her so soon… We only met her last month, and yet… I feel strangely empty. Surely, you feel the same.

_You confirm her suspicions._

**Seraphine: **She isn’t even dead… She’ll wake up one day, but… I don’t know. I can’t help but feel awful thinking about all that happened.

_You say that You feel the same._

**Seraphine: **I hope she wakes up soon… I want to know what she wanted to talk to us about. I know that should be my last concern right now when she nearly died, but…

_You tell her You understand._

**Seraphine: **Thank you… It seems I’m no good with words… You should go and see your students. We can talk more later, alright?

_You nod as she disappears. You make your way to the Black Eagles homeroom, though your whole body feels heavy. You wish for nothing more than to crawl back into bed and sleep the pain away._

**Herwig: **It’s nice to see you, Professor.

**Chris: **How are you doing…?

_You tell her that You will be fine._

**Aquillus: **You aren’t wrong or bad if you don’t feel alright, you know.

**Zelhira: **We’re here for you, Professor.

**Callisto:** This is the least we can do for you after all that you’ve gone out of your way to do for us students.

**Hegias: **We’ll gladly support you…

**Tuncay: **Malice will not escape.

**Florence: **Enough harm has been done up to this point.

**Polly: **It will end soon, I am sure.

**Herwig: **Did you hear about our mission for the month?

_You explain what Aisa told You._

**Zelhira: **Again with the rebellions… However, it’s someone we have a deep connection to this time…

**Aquillus: **I wonder what sparked this.

**Callisto: **Derric and Niko are both related to him, but they haven’t been home in months, so I doubt they were aware of this.

**Hegias: **He conspired against the emperor without speaking to his sons at all…

**Tuncay: **We can’t let him get away with this.

**Florence: **I’m happy we all agree on that.

**Polly: **What should we do about it?

**Chris: **We have to stop them. There’s no other option.

**Herwig: **Be sure to say safe. All of you. A lot has been going on, and I don’t want any of you to die on me.

**Callisto: **We’re so close to graduation. We don’t want the year to devolve into chaos now.

**Hegias: **If you ask me, that’s already happened…

**Tuncay: **We’ll all stay alive then. Nobody is allowed to object.

**Florence: **That includes you, Professor. Be careful out there.

_You nod._

**Aquillus: **We all have a lot of thinking to do, so maybe we should split up for the day.

**Zelhira:** Everything only grows more intense it seems…

**Polly: **Time refuses to stop, no matter who it might be for.

**Chris: **I wish the past could be changed, but…

**Herwig: **Class is dismissed. Be careful, students.

_The students all leave aside from Chris, who approaches You slowly._

**Chris: **I… I’m sorry about what happened last month, Professor… If you need anything from any of us, we’ll all help you, okay?

_You thank her._

**Chris: **Um… You look like you want to be alone, so I won’t stick around… I hope you feel better soon, Professor.

_Chris leaves. Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **What good kids… I’m glad we have their support through all of this…

_You agree._

**Seraphine: **Well… I guess it’s time to start looking around the monastery. Let’s go see what’s happening, alright?

_You nod as Seraphine disappears. Your heart is heavy, but You pray that seeing your students and coworkers will help to cheer You up. If it fails, You are unsure as to if anything will work to ease the burden on your mind and spirit…_

_You encounter Magnolia and Falon in the courtyard of the Officers Academy._

**Magnolia: **I… I am sorry about what happened on the mission, Professor.

**Falon: **We won’t let Evenor get away with this… She’s a fiend for what she has done.

**Magnolia: **Ms. McCreary will be avenged.

**Falon: **That much we can swear.

_You see Cedric and Lev in the Golden Deer homeroom._

**Cedric: **I knew betrayal existed, but… I didn’t expect to experience it in this way.

**Lev: **She meant to stab everyone in the back from the start…

**Cedric: **How did she find out so much about Crests? Did others pay for it with their lives?

**Lev: **Somehow, I assume so…

**Cedric: **Monster… She’s nothing short of a monster.

**Lev: **I’m glad we agree on that.

_You leave the Officers Academy to go to the training hall. Inside, You see Reese and Cordelia speaking._

**Reese: **Evenor’s betrayal truly is unfortunate…

**Cordelia: **She must have been involved with those mages who stole away Florence and Herwig.

**Reese: **I want to know her motivation for such… Why would she bother?

**Cordelia: **I don’t think it matters at this point… I just want her head on a silver platter.

**Reese: **Crimes against humanity will not go unforgiven.

**Cordelia: **I agree fully.

_You move to the bottom floor of dorms. There, You see Zelhira and Hegias._

**Zelhira: **How are you holding up?

**Hegias: **I can’t believe she would do all of that… To us… To me.

**Zelhira: **You never knew about any of this, did you?

**Hegias: **N-No… Not at all.

**Zelhira: **I want to know what she’s thinking… Why go so far?

**Hegias: **I don’t know… But I have to ask… Did she ever care about me in the first place…?

_You go upstairs, and at the end of the second floor’s row of dorms, You see Chris and Polly standing together._

**Chris: **I don’t understand… Why did such a kind soul have to be hurt in that last fight?

**Polly: **Ms. McCreary will recover.

**Chris: **I know, but… Then there’s the matter of Evenor… I can’t help but wonder if I was somehow involved in her descent into madness.

**Polly: **Even if you were, it wouldn’t be your fault. She chose to go down this path.

**Chris: **Yeah… You’re right…

**Polly: **It doesn’t mean she’ll get away with it though…

_You head back downstairs, and You go into the greenhouse. Inside, You see Aestlyn and Kyle together._

**Aestlyn: **So much has happened… I just want it all to stop.

**Kyle: **Do you think you’ll be alright, Aestlyn?

**Aestlyn: **One day… One day, I will be…

**Kyle: **Do you need anything…?

**Aestlyn: **I… I just want to be alone. Excuse me…

**Kyle: **…

_You see Adeline and William together near the fishing hole._

**William: **Professor… It’s nice to see you.

**Adeline: **We’ve been doing some research on the blade Sirius.

**William: **We found out that it first appeared centuries ago, but none were ever able to use it.

**Adeline: **It seemed to be partially compatible with a lot of Crests, but none could use it fully.

**William: **I guess it bonded with the conglomerate Crest that you have…

**Adeline: **You’re the only one who can use it then… I know you will bear it well.

_You move to the dining hall, and once there, You see Nesreen and Adrian together._

**Adrian: **I went on many missions last year, but none of them were like that.

**Nesreen: **I doubt this peace will last for much longer.

**Adrian: **I never thought I would see war, but…

**Nesreen: **It seems to be coming.

**Adrian: **As much as I hate to admit it… Yes…

**Nesreen: **Here’s to hoping it doesn’t actually happen…

_You see Herwig speaking with Jill just outside the dining hall._

**Herwig: **I’ve been trying to find out more about Evenor’s Crest experimentation, but… I’ve got nothing.

**Jill: **She’s clearly been doing it for a long time, but I don’t know how she covered it up.

**Herwig: **Somebody powerful must have helped her.

**Jill: **The Adrestian Empire has a lot to answer for…

**Herwig: **I can agree with that fully.

_After finishing in the dining hall, You move to the marketplace, where You run into Tuncay and Aquillus._

**Aquillus: **I can’t help but feel bad for Hegias…

**Tuncay: **That Crest scholar got him into this school. Now, he hears she’s always meant to stab him in the back…

**Aquillus: **I must ask… Do you think she did anything to him along the way?

**Tuncay: **It wouldn’t surprise me… Hedges, what happened to you…?

_Inside the stables, You see Nora and Karim._

**Karim: **The world seems to be moving so fast, huh?

**Nora: **You can say that again… The year is almost over.

**Karim: **Plus, we’ve got the betrayal, Ms. McCreary being attacked…

**Nora: **So much is taking place… I just pray it doesn’t get any worse…

_You go to the entrance hall, where You encounter Wolfgang and Sofia speaking._

**Wolfgang: **Sofia, what are you planning on doing after this year is over?

**Sofia: **Probably going home… What about you?

**Wolfgang: **Same… I just… Do you think we can stay in contact even after the year has ended?

**Sofia: **I don’t see why not… I’d love to stay in contact with you.

**Wolfgang: **I appreciate that, Sofia.

**Sofia: **It’s no problem.

_Also in the entrance hall, You see Yuliya and Miriam._

**Miriam: **I can’t help but wonder how Faerghus will be impacted by the ascension of the princess after this school year…

**Yuliya: **The war with Albinea will undoubtedly continue… Faerghus can’t seem to get enough of war.

**Miriam: **Perhaps she will bring about change…

**Yuliya: **Do you really believe that?

**Miriam: **Hope is worth it every once in a while.

**Yuliya: **If you say so…

_You continue north to the reception hall. Inside, You see Raithius speaking with Novalee._

**Raithius: **Sirius… It’s supposedly only linked partially to most Crests, though it seems to embrace Unio.

**Novalee: **I wonder… It was constructed a hundred years ago.

**Raithius: **You think it was made parallel to the start of experimentation? After all, Unio can exist only through experimentation.

**Novalee: **Precisely… I have no evidence, but it is a possibility.

**Raithius: **I feel the same…

**Novalee: **Perhaps we will find more answers soon.

_Next, You see Kaeta and Wynne talking._

**Kaeta: **After this year, I’ll hopefully become an official knight…

**Wynne: **I’d certainly say you’ve done enough work to join the party.

**Kaeta: **I can’t wait to finally become a Knight of Seiros… I’ve waited ages for this time to come.

**Wynne: **I’m proud of you, Kaeta. You’re going to do great.

**Kaeta: **Aw… Thanks, Wynne.

**Wynne: **No problem.

_You head towards the cathedral. On the bridge, You see Piers and Rodain._

**Piers: **I saw you flirting with women in the local town again.

**Rodain: **It really isn’t a big deal…

**Piers: **Why do you insist on doing this?

**Rodain: **Why do you insist on getting involved with my business?

**Piers: **Just… Try to calm it down, alright?

**Rodain: **Okay then, wet blanket… Consider it an order.

_Inside the cathedral proper, You see Callisto and Florence discussing something._

**Callisto: **I want to know how many people were given Crests via experimentation under Evenor’s guidance.

**Florence: **The process must be traumatizing… Nobody would ever be the same again.

**Callisto: **No person deserves to go through that, much less children…

**Florence: **Anyone who finds that morally justifiable disgusts me.

**Callisto: **Ugh… If the goddess decided to get rid of humans, I wouldn’t blame her.

**Florence: **Neither would I.

_You see Erika standing alone inside the cathedral as well._

**Erika: **I-I… I never knew Janae all that well… She seemed to be running from the past, never able to sit still… However, she was at her most relaxed around you. Her connection with you was something I never could have expected, though I am glad it brought her so much joy… You mean a lot to her. Please, stay safe until she awakens once more.

_You promise to do so._

**Erika: **You have my thanks.

_You go upstairs, and You see Illona and Cassia standing together._

**Cassia: **Illona, you’ve been acting rather odd ever since the mission’s report got out.

**Illona: **It’s nothing…

**Cassia: **I recall hearing of a man with your hair color, you know…

**Illona: **I-I don’t know anything about it! P-Please, just… Give me some time, okay…?

**Cassia: **Of course… But if you need anything, I am here to listen.

**Illona: **I-I understand…

_You move to the library, where You see Derric and Niko._

**Derric: **Is… Is it true? Are our parents actually starting a rebellion?

**Niko: **It seems to be the case… I never would have imagined this.

**Derric: **It can’t be real, right?

**Niko: **I always knew they could get thirsty for power, but… I didn’t think it would go this far.

**Derric: **Defying the emperor… That is treason… If they even survive this fight, Emperor Hendrix will have them executed.

**Niko: **A lot has happened… Just thinking about it makes me feel sick.

_Finally, You arrive in the audience chamber, where You see Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **You are here to ask for updates on Janae’s condition, yes?

**Roy: **She is still asleep… I doubt she will wake up anytime soon.

**Aisa: **However, she will survive, which is what matters most…

**Roy: **We’ll tell you if anything changes, alright?

_You thank them and start to head to your room as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Just thinking about what happened to Janae, I… I wish we could have done more… Regardless of if Evenor raised you or not, she committed unspeakable horrors. She is likely the reason we have two Crests… Part of me believes that you were a test subject in her experiments… We might not have all the facts yet, but that will change, and when it does… We’ll have to end her life for all she has done… The Evenor of our memories no longer exists. I highly doubt she ever existed in the first place… But reminiscence matters not before sins against humanity. It will all end soon, and I will be satisfied when it does.

_Seraphine disappears when You arrive at your room. You lay down, though it takes You a long time to fall asleep. Conflicted thoughts about Evenor, Janae, and Sirius rush through your head, and You find that You cannot make sense of them. Sleep takes You over eventually, though your rest is fitful and painful. The burden on your soul has not yet lifted, and You feel as if You are being crushed under its weight… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two weeks from today chapter twelve will be released and I'm so excited you have no idea
> 
> -Digital


	70. Chapter Eleven: Betrayal from Peace I (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and your students plan to quell another rebellion in the Empire.

_You wake up at the start of the Pegasus Moon. You can feel your body aching as You rise from slumber. You remember what happened at the end of the previous moon after your last mission, and You feel your heart throb. Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **I don’t think it’s ever been quite so hard to get out of bed in the morning… I wonder what the archbishop has for us today.

_You say You are curious as well._

**Seraphine: **I know it’s hard, but… I believe in you. You can do this. Everybody is here to support you and Janae. She’ll recover soon. You heard Lady Aisa. It’ll all be fine… Yeah… All fine…

_You nod and rise to your feet. You walk to the audience chamber as Seraphine disappears. For once, she is at a loss for words. You arrive at the audience chamber and open the door slowly._

**Aisa: **Good morning, Professor…

**Roy: **You look exhausted… I doubt you slept well.

_You admit You had trouble resting._

**Roy: **I understand that.

**Aisa: **A lot has happened… Do take your time in recovering.

_You nod and ask what the next mission will be._

**Aisa: **Another noble from Adrestia has risen in rebellion.

**Roy: **He… He is the father of Derric and Niko.

_You stare with wide eyes in surprise._

**Aisa: **Maxwell Lavellan-Indech claimed to be loyal to the church for many years, but he cut off all contact last month in favor of turning his sights towards the throne of the Empire.

**Roy: **The emperor is far from pleased, as I’m sure you would imagine… He wants us to stomp out the rebellion.

**Aisa: **However, he will not be giving your party the briefing this month.

**Roy: **He refuses to do so after ‘being embarrassed the last time’.

**Aisa: **Professor, the time has come to select a house for the month. Who do you wish to follow?

_You think on it briefly before deciding on the Blue Lions._

**Roy: **Will you follow the Blue Lions?

_You nod._

**Aisa: **I see…

**Roy: **Perhaps you should go to see them at this time.

_You start to head for the door when Aisa’s voice stops You._

**Aisa: **Professor?

_You turn to face her._

**Aisa: **If you are still worried about Janae McCreary… You do not need to be. She will be fine. As long as I draw breath, she will survive… And I don’t plan on dying anytime soon.

_You nod your understanding._

**Aisa: **It will be alright… If you need anything, all of us are here for you. Understood?

_You thank her for the offer before leaving. Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **I never would have expected to get so attached to her so soon… We only met her last month, and yet… I feel strangely empty. Surely, you feel the same.

_You confirm her suspicions._

**Seraphine: **She isn’t even dead… She’ll wake up one day, but… I don’t know. I can’t help but feel awful thinking about all that happened.

_You say that You feel the same._

**Seraphine: **I hope she wakes up soon… I want to know what she wanted to talk to us about. I know that should be my last concern right now when she nearly died, but…

_You tell her You understand._

**Seraphine: **Thank you… It seems I’m no good with words… You should go and see your students. We can talk more later, alright?

_You nod as she disappears. You make your way to the Blue Lions homeroom, though your whole body feels heavy. You wish for nothing more than to crawl back into bed and sleep the pain away._

**Reese: **It’s nice to see you, Professor.

**Magnolia: **Are you doing alright?

_You tell her that You will be fine._

**Aestlyn: **You don’t need to hide the truth if you are bothered.

**Karim: **We’re here to help you if you need it.

**Cassia: **We would be happy to assist you if you find that you need others to support you. This is the least we can do.

**Illona: **We can help you for sure.

**Nora: **Malice won’t be getting away with this.

**Kyle: **Enough harm has been done up to this point.

**Falon: **They won’t be keeping on like this for much longer.

**Reese: **Can you tell us about the mission?

_You explain what Aisa told You._

**Karim: **Again with the rebellions… But this time, there are people here at the monastery with direct connections to them.

**Aestlyn: **I wonder what spurred them on.

**Cassia: **Going to battle against the emperor when he has people to defend… It seems selfish, if you ask me.

**Illona: **He has other people to think of, but he ignored their needs…

**Nora: **We have to nip this rebellion in the bud.

**Kyle: **I’m happy we all agree on the matter.

**Falon: **What do you think of the situation, Mags?

**Magnolia: **We can’t let this rebellion persist.

**Reese: **This month’s mission gives me a bad feeling… Be sure to stay safe, okay? I don’t want you kids stumbling into trouble.

**Illona: **I-I don’t want to see anybody die when we’re so close to graduating from the school… We have the future to look forward to.

**Cassia: **We’ll all survive in that case.

**Nora: **I don’t think anyone will disagree with staying alive.

**Kyle: **You are included in that as well, Professor. Understand?

_You nod._

**Aestlyn: **Maybe we should split up for the day… I know I have a lot of thinking to take care of.

**Karim: **The world only seems to be speeding up around us… I don’t like it.

**Falon: **Time refuses to slow down, unfortunately…

**Magnolia:** All we can do is change the future since the past remains out of reach…

**Reese: **With that said, class is dismissed. Be cautious. All of you.

_The students all leave aside from Magnolia, who approaches You slowly._

**Magnolia: **Professor, I can tell that you’re struggling… I’m sorry you’ve been going through a lot as of late. If you need anything from me, or anyone else, for that matter, feel free to say so, okay?

_You thank her._

**Magnolia: **You seem to want some time alone, so… Have a nice afternoon. Just know that we all care about you deeply. That won’t change anytime soon.

_Magnolia leaves. Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **What good kids… I’m glad we have their support through all of this…

_You agree._

**Seraphine: **Well… I guess it’s time to start looking around the monastery. Let’s go see what’s happening, alright?

_You nod as Seraphine disappears. Your heart is heavy, but You pray that seeing your students and coworkers will help to cheer You up. If it fails, You are unsure as to if anything will work to ease the burden on your mind and spirit…_

_You encounter Magnolia and Falon in the courtyard of the Officers Academy._

**Magnolia: **I… I am sorry about what happened on the mission, Professor.

**Falon: **We won’t let Evenor get away with this… She’s a fiend for what she has done.

**Magnolia: **Ms. McCreary will be avenged.

**Falon: **That much we can swear.

_You see Cedric and Lev in the Golden Deer homeroom._

**Cedric: **I knew betrayal existed, but… I didn’t expect to experience it in this way.

**Lev: **She meant to stab everyone in the back from the start…

**Cedric: **How did she find out so much about Crests? Did others pay for it with their lives?

**Lev: **Somehow, I assume so…

**Cedric: **Monster… She’s nothing short of a monster.

**Lev: **I’m glad we agree on that.

_You leave the Officers Academy to go to the training hall. Inside, You see Reese and Cordelia speaking._

**Reese: **Evenor’s betrayal truly is unfortunate…

**Cordelia: **She must have been involved with those mages who stole away Florence and Herwig.

**Reese: **I want to know her motivation for such… Why would she bother?

**Cordelia: **I don’t think it matters at this point… I just want her head on a silver platter.

**Reese: **Crimes against humanity will not go unforgiven.

**Cordelia: **I agree fully.

_You move to the bottom floor of dorms. There, You see Zelhira and Hegias._

**Zelhira: **How are you holding up?

**Hegias: **I can’t believe she would do all of that… To us… To me.

**Zelhira: **You never knew about any of this, did you?

**Hegias: **N-No… Not at all.

**Zelhira: **I want to know what she’s thinking… Why go so far?

**Hegias: **I don’t know… But I have to ask… Did she ever care about me in the first place…?

_You go upstairs, and at the end of the second floor’s row of dorms, You see Chris and Polly standing together._

**Chris: **I don’t understand… Why did such a kind soul have to be hurt in that last fight?

**Polly: **Ms. McCreary will recover.

**Chris: **I know, but… Then there’s the matter of Evenor… I can’t help but wonder if I was somehow involved in her descent into madness.

**Polly: **Even if you were, it wouldn’t be your fault. She chose to go down this path.

**Chris: **Yeah… You’re right…

**Polly: **It doesn’t mean she’ll get away with it though…

_You head back downstairs, and You go into the greenhouse. Inside, You see Aestlyn and Kyle together._

**Aestlyn: **So much has happened… I just want it all to stop.

**Kyle: **Do you think you’ll be alright, Aestlyn?

**Aestlyn: **One day… One day, I will be…

**Kyle: **Do you need anything…?

**Aestlyn: **I… I just want to be alone. Excuse me…

**Kyle: **…

_You see Adeline and William together near the fishing hole._

**William: **Professor… It’s nice to see you.

**Adeline: **We’ve been doing some research on the blade Sirius.

**William: **We found out that it first appeared centuries ago, but none were ever able to use it.

**Adeline: **It seemed to be partially compatible with a lot of Crests, but none could use it fully.

**William: **I guess it bonded with the conglomerate Crest that you have…

**Adeline: **You’re the only one who can use it then… I know you will bear it well.

_You move to the dining hall, and once there, You see Nesreen and Adrian together._

**Adrian: **I went on many missions last year, but none of them were like that.

**Nesreen: **I doubt this peace will last for much longer.

**Adrian: **I never thought I would see war, but…

**Nesreen: **It seems to be coming.

**Adrian: **As much as I hate to admit it… Yes…

**Nesreen: **Here’s to hoping it doesn’t actually happen…

_You see Herwig speaking with Jill just outside the dining hall._

**Herwig: **I’ve been trying to find out more about Evenor’s Crest experimentation, but… I’ve got nothing.

**Jill: **She’s clearly been doing it for a long time, but I don’t know how she covered it up.

**Herwig: **Somebody powerful must have helped her.

**Jill: **The Adrestian Empire has a lot to answer for…

**Herwig: **I can agree with that fully.

_After finishing in the dining hall, You move to the marketplace, where You run into Tuncay and Aquillus._

**Aquillus: **I can’t help but feel bad for Hegias…

**Tuncay: **That Crest scholar got him into this school. Now, he hears she’s always meant to stab him in the back…

**Aquillus: **I must ask… Do you think she did anything to him along the way?

**Tuncay: **It wouldn’t surprise me… Hedges, what happened to you…?

_Inside the stables, You see Nora and Karim._

**Karim: **The world seems to be moving so fast, huh?

**Nora: **You can say that again… The year is almost over.

**Karim: **Plus, we’ve got the betrayal, Ms. McCreary being attacked…

**Nora: **So much is taking place… I just pray it doesn’t get any worse…

_You go to the entrance hall, where You encounter Wolfgang and Sofia speaking._

**Wolfgang: **Sofia, what are you planning on doing after this year is over?

**Sofia: **Probably going home… What about you?

**Wolfgang: **Same… I just… Do you think we can stay in contact even after the year has ended?

**Sofia: **I don’t see why not… I’d love to stay in contact with you.

**Wolfgang: **I appreciate that, Sofia.

**Sofia: **It’s no problem.

_Also in the entrance hall, You see Yuliya and Miriam._

**Miriam: **I can’t help but wonder how Faerghus will be impacted by the ascension of the princess after this school year…

**Yuliya: **The war with Albinea will undoubtedly continue… Faerghus can’t seem to get enough of war.

**Miriam: **Perhaps she will bring about change…

**Yuliya: **Do you really believe that?

**Miriam: **Hope is worth it every once in a while.

**Yuliya: **If you say so…

_You continue north to the reception hall. Inside, You see Raithius speaking with Novalee._

**Raithius: **Sirius… It’s supposedly only linked partially to most Crests, though it seems to embrace Unio.

**Novalee: **I wonder… It was constructed a hundred years ago.

**Raithius: **You think it was made parallel to the start of experimentation? After all, Unio can exist only through experimentation.

**Novalee: **Precisely… I have no evidence, but it is a possibility.

**Raithius: **I feel the same…

**Novalee: **Perhaps we will find more answers soon.

_Next, You see Kaeta and Wynne talking._

**Kaeta: **After this year, I’ll hopefully become an official knight…

**Wynne: **I’d certainly say you’ve done enough work to join the party.

**Kaeta: **I can’t wait to finally become a Knight of Seiros… I’ve waited ages for this time to come.

**Wynne: **I’m proud of you, Kaeta. You’re going to do great.

**Kaeta: **Aw… Thanks, Wynne.

**Wynne: **No problem.

_You head towards the cathedral. On the bridge, You see Piers and Rodain._

**Piers: **I saw you flirting with women in the local town again.

**Rodain: **It really isn’t a big deal…

**Piers: **Why do you insist on doing this?

**Rodain: **Why do you insist on getting involved with my business?

**Piers: **Just… Try to calm it down, alright?

**Rodain: **Okay then, wet blanket… Consider it an order.

_Inside the cathedral proper, You see Callisto and Florence discussing something._

**Callisto: **I want to know how many people were given Crests via experimentation under Evenor’s guidance.

**Florence: **The process must be traumatizing… Nobody would ever be the same again.

**Callisto: **No person deserves to go through that, much less children…

**Florence: **Anyone who finds that morally justifiable disgusts me.

**Callisto: **Ugh… If the goddess decided to get rid of humans, I wouldn’t blame her.

**Florence: **Neither would I.

_You see Erika standing alone inside the cathedral as well._

**Erika: **I-I… I never knew Janae all that well… She seemed to be running from the past, never able to sit still… However, she was at her most relaxed around you. Her connection with you was something I never could have expected, though I am glad it brought her so much joy… You mean a lot to her. Please, stay safe until she awakens once more.

_You promise to do so._

**Erika: **You have my thanks.

_You go upstairs, and You see Illona and Cassia standing together._

**Cassia: **Illona, you’ve been acting rather odd ever since the mission’s report got out.

**Illona: **It’s nothing…

**Cassia: **I recall hearing of a man with your hair color, you know…

**Illona: **I-I don’t know anything about it! P-Please, just… Give me some time, okay…?

**Cassia: **Of course… But if you need anything, I am here to listen.

**Illona: **I-I understand…

_You move to the library, where You see Derric and Niko._

**Derric: **Is… Is it true? Are our parents actually starting a rebellion?

**Niko: **It seems to be the case… I never would have imagined this.

**Derric: **It can’t be real, right?

**Niko: **I always knew they could get thirsty for power, but… I didn’t think it would go this far.

**Derric: **Defying the emperor… That is treason… If they even survive this fight, Emperor Hendrix will have them executed.

**Niko: **A lot has happened… Just thinking about it makes me feel sick.

_Finally, You arrive in the audience chamber, where You see Aisa and Roy._

**Aisa: **You are here to ask for updates on Janae’s condition, yes?

**Roy: **She is still asleep… I doubt she will wake up anytime soon.

**Aisa: **However, she will survive, which is what matters most…

**Roy: **We’ll tell you if anything changes, alright?

_You thank them and start to head to your room as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Just thinking about what happened to Janae, I… I wish we could have done more… Regardless of if Evenor raised you or not, she committed unspeakable horrors. She is likely the reason we have two Crests… Part of me believes that you were a test subject in her experiments… We might not have all the facts yet, but that will change, and when it does… We’ll have to end her life for all she has done… The Evenor of our memories no longer exists. I highly doubt she ever existed in the first place… But reminiscence matters not before sins against humanity. It will all end soon, and I will be satisfied when it does.

_Seraphine disappears when You arrive at your room. You lay down, though it takes You a long time to fall asleep. Conflicted thoughts about Evenor, Janae, and Sirius rush through your head, and You find that You cannot make sense of them. Sleep takes You over eventually, though your rest is fitful and painful. The burden on your soul has not yet lifted, and You feel as if You are being crushed under its weight… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited this is the last chapter set to be released before chapter twelve begins which is the last bit before time skip the time is now
> 
> -Digital


	71. Chapter Eleven: Betrayal from Peace II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone from the Adrestian Empire appears to aid your forces for the month.

_Halfway through the month, You are sitting in your room on your bed. A knock comes at the door, and You frown to yourself. Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **I wonder who that could be…

_You rise to your feet and open the door. On the other side, You see a small cluster of students. You recognize them as Chris, Magnolia, Raithius, Polly, and Novalee._

**Seraphine: **What are they doing here?

_You ask what has them coming by your room at this evening hour._

**Novalee: **There is someone visiting the monastery…

**Magnolia: **We weren’t told he would be joining us until just a short while ago… We figured you would want to know.

**Polly: **The emperor didn’t want to send us any official troops, but he did send someone to help with dealing with the rebellion…

**Chris: **As for if he will actually be helpful, that’s debatable.

**Raithius: **His name is Arthur. He’s a noble of Adrestia.

**Polly: **A noble of Adrestia? That’s a compliment. He’s the brattiest, scummiest pile of trash to ever draw breath on the continent of Adrestia.

_You ask what has her disliking this noble so much._

**Polly: **He’s my brother.

**Novalee: **It sounds to me like you two do not get along at all.

**Raithius: **I’ve spoken to him a few times… Granted, it’s been years since we last talked, but…

**Magnolia: **He’s far from pleasant.

**Chris: **Somehow, I get the feeling he only came by here to fuel his massive ego. He’s one of those people.

_You say that he sounds far from pleasant._

**Polly: **That’s putting it nicely… Regardless, let’s go and get this over with. You might as well meet him now before he can be a pest later.

_You follow the students away from your room and towards the entrance hall. Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Yikes… What did this guy do to make him so bad?

_You shake your head, unsure of what the answer could be. Seraphine disappears when You arrive in the entrance hall. There, You see a man in formal wear with dark brown hair bordering on being black. His eyes are incredibly dark. Something about his aura tells You that he has a massive ego, just as the students stated not long before._

**Chris: **Professor… Meet Arthur Riverbane. He will be accompanying you in defeating Lord Lavellan-Indech this month.

**Arthur: **It is a pleasure to meet you, Professor… I have heard much about you. You are impressive on and off the battlefield.

**Polly: **Quit it with the empty compliments, Arthur.

**Arthur: **I don’t recall giving you permission to speak.

**Polly: **I don’t recall giving you permission to exist in my presence.

**Magnolia: **E-Either way, Arthur, if you need anything, we’d all be happy to help you out.

**Novalee: **How long will you be staying?

**Arthur: **Only for about two weeks… I have important business to attend to back at home after the mission is over.

**Raithius: **Well, we don’t want to take you away from your incredibly vital duties…

**Arthur: **I am happy to be here… It gives me an excuse to see my obnoxious little sister and dear future wife again.

**Magnolia: **Um… Excuse me? Future wife?

**Arthur: **Have you not heard?

**Chris: **I would prefer it if you didn’t talk about this.

**Arthur: **Well, who asked you?

_You ask what Arthur means._

**Arthur: **I’m going to be marrying Chris here when she graduates! We’re going to rule Adrestia together!

**Chris: **I told you that I didn’t want you to talk about it.

**Arthur: **Again, did I ask you?

**Polly: **Leave her alone, Arthur. Do you ever stop talking?

**Novalee: **Regardless, I am glad that we were all able to introduce the professor to you, Arthur.

**Arthur: **Don’t you look sweet? What’s your name?

**Novalee: **None of your business.

**Arthur: **That’s an odd name…

**Polly: **What a dumb…

**Raithius: **Perhaps we should show you to your room, Arthur.

**Arthur: **Ah, yes… The monastery offered me housing for the short time I will be here.

**Novalee: **I can help you show him around, Lord Raithius.

**Raithius: **Or you could stay here.

**Novalee: **Or I could come with you.

**Raithius: **Alright, alright… Let’s get going.

_Arthur leaves with Novalee and Raithius._

**Magnolia: **I see why Raithius wanted to leave Novalee here… I wouldn’t want any girl to be around him.

**Polly: **He reeks of superiority and an ego larger than this damn monastery.

**Chris: **He doesn’t know how to speak to a girl without looking down on them…

**Magnolia: **I’ve only seen him in passing at meetings when my uncle invites nobles from other nations for conferences, but…

**Polly: **Let me guess. You thought he was obnoxious before, but it just magnified since you got to see him talk to others.

**Magnolia: **Y-Yes…

**Chris: **Don’t take his words at face value. He might say that we’re engaged, but the instant I’m able to get out of it, I’m leaving him.

**Magnolia: **I can’t blame you for that.

**Polly: **You didn’t like him in the first place. Nobody did.

**Chris: **Can you blame me for hating him?

**Magnolia: **Not in the slightest.

_Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **What an unpleasant man… He behaves more like a baby than a future leader of the Empire.

_You nod your agreement._

**Seraphine: **That’s a bit of an insult to babies, but I think you know what I mean.

_Raithius and Novalee return as Seraphine disappears._

**Raithius: **Well, I think I have a headache already.

**Novalee: **We really weren’t with him long, but…

**Raithius: **I would be content with never seeing him again.

**Magnolia: **Understandable.

**Polly: **Please note that I do not affiliate with him willingly. If he was not my brother, I would have stopped talking to him a long time ago.

**Chris: **If he wasn’t such a kiss-up to my father, you would have stabbed him a long time ago.

**Polly: **I will neither confirm nor deny that.

**Raithius: **Either way, now that we’ve dealt with that, we should get to sleep.

**Magnolia: **Classes tomorrow won’t wait for us.

**Novalee: **I hope you all have a nice evening.

**Chris: **I’m going to lock my door and hope he doesn’t get needy overnight.

**Polly: **I’m going to barricade mine. The less I have to deal with Arthur, the better.

**Raithius: **Have a nice night, everyone.

**Novalee: **Until tomorrow.

**Magnolia: **Sleep well.

_Raithius, Novalee, and Magnolia walk away._

**Polly: **Do you think you’re going to be okay with him here?

**Chris: **If he’s smart, he’ll notice that I spend time with Tuncay, who might be the most terrifying person in the monastery.

**Polly: **And they happen to hate nobles… Perfect.

**Chris: **In other words, he’ll get chopped in half if he breathes wrong.

**Polly: **If only the goddess could be so merciful…

**Chris: **My apologies for Arthur, Professor. Do your best to ignore him. He’s… Mostly harmless.

**Polly: **He’s harmless if he fears you. If he thinks he’s better than you, he’s not harmless.

**Chris: **Either way, he’s toxic and aggravating. Avoid him, and you’ll be better off.

**Polly: **Sorry for getting you out of your room to deal with that.

**Chris: **We’ll see you later.

**Polly: **Sleep well.

_Chris and Polly walk away as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **What a pathetic windbag… I know murder is generally frowned upon, but maybe we could make an exception…

_You shake your head and remind her that Arthur is a noble._

**Seraphine: **You’re right… I’m just on edge because of what happened a few weeks ago… I hope I’m better by the time the mission arrives. After that, we can hopefully bid this irritating man farewell forever.

_You nod and head to your room._

**Seraphine: **Raithius was right about getting a headache… I don’t know how much more of thinking about him I can deal with. Let’s get to bed.

_You agree and shut the door after arriving. You sit on your bed._

**Seraphine: **I hope Janae gets better soon… It’s already been two weeks, but there’s no improvement… Until then, all we can do is hope… Hope and avoid Arthur. He gives me bad vibes… I’m glad I’m just a spirit in your head, because he seems to fear you, and if I was a physical person, he would probably think himself superior to me due to my youthful appearance… You know what? I’m sick of talking about him. Let’s just sleep. Goodnight, Professor.

_Seraphine disappears, though You can still feel her unease surrounding Arthur. You agree that he gives You a bad feeling. You worry for your students and decide to ensure they are not left alone with him in case he gets any bad ideas. You eventually give into sleep, though your stomach is a knot even in slumber. Arthur has only just arrived, and You already want him to leave…_

_After this event takes place, if You choose to explore the monastery, You will see Arthur in the entrance hall standing alone._

**Arthur: **I would like to know… Have you seen my future wife anywhere?

_You tell him that she has gone out, not wanting to trust him alone with Chris or Polly._

**Arthur: **Thank you… I need to speak with her as soon as possible. It’s been far too long since we caught up… I pray to the goddess that she hasn’t been getting too handsy with anyone else since she belongs to me. I can’t have my future wife cheating on me, can I? Scandal is the enemy of the proper noble!

_You walk away, still not satisfied with his presence. He makes You incredibly uncomfortable, and You cannot wait for him to leave once and for all. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit of an odd one, I have to say. It's the same regardless of the house chosen for the month, so there isn't a given house that impacts the choice of this chapter. I hope that makes sense. 
> 
> -Digital


	72. Chapter Eleven: Betrayal from Peace III (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Golden Deer set out to defeat the lord and lady of House Lavellan-Indech.

_The day of the mission arrives, and You wake up before getting to your feet. Seraphine manifests beside You._

**Seraphine: **We’re so close to being done with the year, and yet, I am afraid of what lies beyond… I want to get this mission over with. The sooner we take care of this revolt, the sooner we can come back here and check on Janae. I know there won’t be any changes, but part of me is still hoping things will get better… They have to get better… Right?

_You tell her that You hope so._

**Seraphine: **Yeah… Hope… That’s all we can do now, huh…?

_Seraphine disappears, and You walk to the Golden Deer homeroom. You feel oddly empty as You make your way there. Once You arrive, You open the door. You see the students alongside Jill, Nesreen, Kaeta, Yuliya, Derric, Niko, and Arthur. You feel alright about the mission until You see Arthur, and seeing him makes You feel somewhat sick. He is aggravating, to say the least._

**Jill: **I’m glad to see we’re all here…

**Nesreen: **We don’t have any time to waste. It’s time to take care of business.

**Kaeta: **You’re right. I don’t think there’s really any reason for us to stand around here for too long.

**Raithius: **What I want to find out today is why Lord Lavellan-Indech would turn against the crown like that.

**Yuliya: **Maybe he decided to follow Bazler into the hell that inevitably awaits him in the afterlife.

**Sofia: **He didn’t seem to show any signs of rebelling before now though.

**William: **Perhaps something pushed him to want to lash out.

**Adeline: **Someone could have manipulated him into rebelling.

**Lev: **That wouldn’t surprise me…

**Wolfgang: **Maybe it was Malice.

**Cedric: **He is going against his duties as a noble…

**Novalee: **Noble duties or not, what matters is that we take care of him.

**Niko: **I don’t understand… Why would they rebel without mentioning it to us…?

**Derric: **They never bothered to say anything to us… It’s so strange…

**Adrian: **All we can do now is take care of business.

**Arthur: **And we shall! They will perish for going against the royal family!

_Everyone in the room starts to leave as Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **Arthur is a bumbling fool… I don’t mean that in the endearing way either. He would probably get his head smashed in with a rock if he took his rude mannerisms around the wrong people. Hell, he’s probably only alive at this point because he’s a noble. I hope not all nobles are like him… I mean, your students seem fine, but others… Yikes.

_You offer no outward response as Seraphine vanishes. You begin the journey to Lavellan-Indech territory, wondering when You will arrive…_

_When You finally reach your destination, You look around. There are no soldiers at all._

**Raithius: **For being a territory about to start a revolt, it seems oddly desolated here.

**Jill: **The land is practically abandoned…

**Novalee: **I don’t understand it… They must be hiding somewhere.

**Adrian: **If I had to wager a guess, it would be the main estate.

**Sofia: **If they are in the primary estate, we know our next destination.

**Adeline: **I guess they’re trying to put up a defensive front…

**William: **I bet they suspected we were coming. If all other nobles that have revolted this year were forced to deal with us, they could put the pieces together.

**Nesreen: **No matter how much they try to get away, it will fail.

**Lev: **Something must have spurred them on…

**Niko: **I would be lying if I said our parents aren’t power-hungry people. In fact, they’ve always seemed to want more.

**Kaeta: **Maybe they’re involved with Malice…

**Derric: **Would they really go so far…?

**Cedric: **If they’re starting a rebellion of this nature, it wouldn’t surprise me, as much as I hate to say it.

**Wolfgang: **This must be the next step in Malice’s plan.

**Yuliya: **I guess this is much larger than we thought.

**Arthur: **What monsters they are for disobeying the rule of Emperor Hendrix.

**Raithius: **You’re supposed to be marrying the future emperor, yes?

**Arthur: **I am. What of it?

**Raithius: **Oh, nothing…

_Seraphine appears as the group starts to move towards the Lavellan-Indech estate once more._

**Seraphine: **If you ask me, Arthur is only siding with the Faixnoye family since it benefits him. He’s an aggravating person, to put it nicely. I doubt he’s willing to play nice given how rude he is, so he’s probably only with the Faixnoye family since he thinks they’ll win. The second there are any signs the conflict will turn the other way, he’s going to change sides. I can guarantee you that much.

_You silently agree before following after the rest of the group. You reach the primary estate of the territory and see a large building with elaborate gardens surrounding it._

**Derric: **We’re here… Home.

**Niko: **Bold of you to assume it was ever home… It’s more of a prison in my eyes.

**Adrian: **Lord and Lady Lavellan-Indech! Show yourselves!

**Nesreen: **On behalf of the Church of Seiros, we ask that you surrender!

_A man and woman appear on the primary balcony of the estate._

**Kaeta: **If you think you can get away with endangering so many people, you’re wrong!

**Maxwell: **Quiet, pathetic child. You could never begin to comprehend our actions.

**Yuliya: **You’re doing this for power… Tch. Typical.

**Joann: **Shut your mouth, whelp!

**Jill: **They’re locked up in the building… They have the tactical advantage.

**Raithius: **It doesn’t matter. We have to seize that building.

**Wolfgang: **Hopefully, they’ll all scatter once we take the main part of the estate.

**Lev: **It’s not going to be easy to get in there, but we can do it.

**Sofia: **We’re going up against experienced soldiers this time… That’s what I think, at least. I still can’t see them.

**William: **They’re still hiding in the building. They probably won’t come out until we get close.

**Adeline: **They’re going to try and surprise us, but it won’t work.

**Novalee: **On your signal, Lord Raithius.

**Cedric: **We’ll follow your guidance.

**Raithius: **Golden Deer, the time has come! We fight!

_The battle begins. Your units start at the bottom of the map, and the goal is to seize the throne at the top of the map. Two units guard the throne, those being Maxwell and Joan. At certain checkpoints, reinforcements wearing the uniform of the Lavellan-Indech army appear alongside Malice fighters. The Golden Deer show clear signs of growth, and You feel pride swell in your chest. You know that they would not have been able to take on such an obstacle at the start of the year. You are glad to have seen them come so far._

_If You initiate combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Maxwell: **You are nothing more than children… You could not begin to comprehend our plans, and you will die for trying!

_If Raithius initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **I have to ask… Why are you doing this?

**Maxwell: **It’s rather simple… There are promises of power you could never understand.

**Raithius: **From who? Malice?

**Maxwell: **No… The true emperor of the Adrestian Empire.

**Raithius: **I don't understand.

**Maxwell: **I didn’t expect you to. I just ask that you die!

_If Novalee initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Maxwell: **You’re the future sovereign duke’s lapdog, aren’t you?

**Novalee: **That is none of your business.

**Maxwell: **If you had not turned against your bloodline, you would be enjoying riches beyond imagination.

**Novalee: **What?

**Maxwell: **You abandoned your family, and you will regret it one day… But for now, let’s end this! 

_If Cedric initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Cedric: **You have abandoned your duty as a noble. You left your people to suffer while you tried to start a war you had no hopes of winning.

**Maxwell: **Nobility is nowhere near as idealistic as you believe.

**Cedric: **Nobles are meant to protect their people!

**Maxwell: **You are a fool if you truly believe that.

**Cedric: **You are the fool here for believing harm and death will aid your ends!

**Maxwell: **Still your tongue! I’ve had enough chatter!

_If Niko initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Niko: **I always knew you were two-faced… You may have sucked Derric into your schemes, but I could not be fooled.

**Maxwell: **Do you have any idea how concerned we were that you never returned, Niko?

**Niko: **You were using me to meet your own goals. That is not love. You never loved me.

**Maxwell: **We did that because we loved you.

**Niko: **I will tolerate no more of your lies… Be gone from this world!

_If Derric initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Derric: **How could you do this to me…?! You took me in as your own child, and now you’re betraying me?!

**Maxwell: **You were a project to improve our public image. You fell for it. That was your mistake.

**Derric: **All those years you cared for me… It was all a lie…?

**Maxwell: **Good to see you aren’t as much of a fool as you seemed to be for so long.

**Derric: **I… Just make this all stop!!

_If Arthur initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Arthur: **You are a monster for rising up against the Faixnoye family!

**Maxwell: **You have no need to side with them. Hendrix is little more than an animal.

**Arthur: **An animal who would have helped you if you had not lashed out.

**Maxwell: **Then why did he take away power from all nobles who didn’t kiss up to him? Dastard.

**Arthur: **You should have done some more manipulating then. For now, goodbye.

_If anyone else initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Maxwell: **You are fools for siding with the false emperor… Pathetic children. I will show you what awaits in the next life, and it is only hell!

_If You initiate combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Joann: **You’re the leader of this group, are you? How stupid you are for believing you could win… You made the wrong choice, and I will prove it to you!

_If Raithius initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **I seem to recall hearing you were a fair person… I suppose that was wrong.

**Joann: **Life is not as it is in stories, child.

**Raithius: **Goddess above, do I understand that… I just have to wonder… Why?

**Joann: **It is none of your concern… Now, perish!

_If Novalee initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Joann: **Josephine’s granddaughter… You turned against all you have known to side with the church? Pathetic.

**Novalee: **How do you--

**Joann: **Josephine is not who you believe her to be.

**Novalee: **…

**Joann: **Enough of that. Die.

_If Cedric initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Cedric: **I don’t understand… How could you do such a thing? How could you endanger your people?

**Joann: **If you wanted a good noble, you should have checked a nation less problematic.

**Cedric: **What?

**Joann: **The emperor is to blame. Your issues with me rest with only him.

**Cedric: **You are pathetic for not owning up to your own sins… I won’t let you get away with this!

**Joann: **Come at me then, whelp!

_If Niko initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Niko: **Those years you spent grooming me… You wanted me to be like you.

**Joann: **It was for your own good.

**Niko: **For my own good? You don’t know what good is, putting so many people in danger with your stupid rebellion.

**Joann: **I know what I am doing.

**Niko: **Quit lying to me… You’re doing this only for yourself.

**Joann: **Quiet, Niko! This is none of your concern!

**Niko: **You’re a monster… And you shall not escape on my watch.

_If Derric initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Derric: **You… You acted as my mother when I was alone in this world, so I must ask… Why?

**Joann: **This was the best choice for everyone.

**Derric: **Everyone…? What about your soldiers? You sent them to die!

**Joann: **And your party killed them.

**Derric: **I…

**Joann: **The blame does not rest with me. Accept your own faults. You didn’t see the truth dangling in front of you, and that allowed us to succeed.

**Derric: **Stop talking already! I’m tired of hearing this!

**Joann: **Pathetic…

_If Arthur initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Joann: **If I expected anyone to betray the emperor, it would be you… Your ambitions are far greater than his ever will be.

**Arthur: **He secured me a strong place in the nobility. You could have had the same.

**Joann: **And kiss that man’s feet? Never.

**Arthur: **This is your fault then… You brought my blade down upon your neck!

_If anyone else initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Joann: **The church is full of fools if they think we will be defeated here today… Such arrogance will cost you your lives!

_When Maxwell is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Maxwell: **Do not think this is the end…

_When Joann is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Joann: **How… How revolting…

_If Arthur is defeated during the battle, this dialogue plays out._

**Arthur: **Ugh… I refuse to fall here! For the sake of Adrestia’s future, I must live…

_After the fight, You stand inside the main building of the estate looking out over the horizon. Maxwell and Joann are nearby._

**Maxwell: **If you think this is the last you’ll see of us, you’re wrong.

**Joann: **You shall not succeed again!

_Maxwell and Joann flee alongside their remaining soldiers, leaving your forces alone in the area._

**Niko: **They’re gone…

**Jill: **We won’t be able to chase them as it is… Our troops are exhausted.

**Raithius: **I get the feeling they’ll be showing themselves again soon enough.

**Kaeta: **And when they do, we’ll be ready.

**Derric: **I… I can’t believe it… They really betrayed us…

**Adeline: **How awful…

**Sofia: **If you ask me, we should get back to the monastery.

**Nesreen: **Lady Aisa needs to know that they got away.

**Cedric: **I’m sure she’ll send church troops after them.

**William: **They won’t be on the run for long.

**Yuliya: **The church is ruthless… They won’t escape.

**Lev: **I want to get out of here…

**Wolfgang: **As do I.

**Novalee: **It would be best if we didn’t linger.

**Arthur: **What fiends they are…

**Adrian: **I can’t help but agree.

**Arthur: **I am afraid I will not be returning with you to the monastery… My home is near, and I have to report back. Farewell, everyone.

**Raithius: **Goodbye. We’ll totally miss you.

**Arthur: **It’s good to know I am appreciated.

_Arthur walks away._

**Novalee: **What a fool… Let’s just get back.

_The group starts to walk away as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **I feel like I should be more upset that they got away, but I just feel… Empty. It’s like none of this can bother me anymore… It scares me.

_You agree silently as she disappears. You say nothing to anyone the rest of the journey back to the monastery. Upon arriving, You go to visit Aisa and Roy in the audience chamber._

**Aisa: **Professor… It is good to see you return.

**Roy: **How was the mission?

_You say hesitantly that the enemy commanders got away._

**Aisa: **I will send troops to find them immediately.

**Roy: **They’ll be taken care of as soon as possible.

**Aisa: **I’m happy to say that you have taken care of the last mission you will have for the church.

_You gasp in surprise._

**Roy: **Next month, the students will graduate, and… It will be time for you to make your own path in life.

**Aisa: **Whether you stay here or not is your choice, but… The time has come.

**Roy: **We trust you to make the right decision.

_You nod._

**Aisa: **However, the time has not yet come for that… You should return to your room. We will take care of things from here.

**Roy: **Have a nice night, Professor.

_You thank them for their time and start to walk out._

**Seraphine: **What a short conversation… It seems everyone has grown exhausted under the strain of what seems to be coming… I don’t want us to go to war, but… It’s seeming more and more likely… I think I’m going to be sick…

_You are silent as You walk to the Golden Deer classroom. You walk inside when You arrive._

**Jill: **That’s all for the month…

**Niko: **I still can’t believe they got away.

**Sofia: **Still, we have a lot to look forward to.

**Adeline: **Graduation is coming next month.

**Kaeta: **Another year is about to end.

**Yuliya: **How fast it’s gone by…

**Raithius: **It feels like just yesterday we were all meeting.

**Cedric: **I pray that we all stay in contact until we meet again.

**Lev: **We should cherish what little time we have left before graduation…

**William: **Now is a time for celebration.

**Wolfgang: **We’ve accomplished so much…

**Adrian: **And yet, I don’t feel like celebrating.

**Nesreen: **Somehow, I doubt any of us do.

**Derric: **I need some time to think…

**Adeline: **I think we all do.

**Lev: **Maybe we should split up for now and meet up again later…

**Nesreen: **Yeah… I don’t want to deal with this anymore.

**Niko: **I want to go and sleep…

**Derric: **I just want to forget about all of this.

**Sofia: **Perhaps we should split up for the time being.

**Cedric: **That sounds like a splendid plan.

**Yuliya: **In that case, goodbye.

**William: **I hope you all have a nice evening…

**Wolfgang: **I’ll do my best to at least.

**Adrian: **I… I’ll be thinking about you all.

**Kaeta: **Thank you, Adrian.

**Novalee: **Until we meet again.

**Raithius: **See you later.

**Jill: **Class dismissed.

_The students all leave the room. You watch them go, unable to bring yourself to do much more. Seraphine appears near You._

**Seraphine: **Did you see how demoralized everyone was? They hated the fact that they failed in this mission. We let them get away, and even if we wouldn’t have been able to pursue them… The feeling of guilt still remains. I wish… I wish we could do something.

_You nod._

**Seraphine: **I hope things get better soon… Graduation is coming! We’re supposed to be happy. We’ve followed these students for a year, and they’re finally spreading their wings to go out in the world, but… I still feel empty. I mean, we always knew they would leave, but… I’m going to miss them. I wish they didn’t have to leave us on such a sour note. Nobody is happy as it is.

_You agree with her statement._

**Seraphine: **Everything feels like it’s going wrong. Janae hasn’t changed, the students are demoralized, and it feels like we’re on the brink of war… Nothing is going well! I hate it!

_You look down. You start to walk to your room._

**Seraphine: **I don’t think I can pretend to be excited for graduation anymore… I’m terrified of what lies beyond, of what wars could start as soon as the students leave these halls… They’re not just students anymore. They’re our kids, and I don’t want them hurt.

_You say that You feel the same._

**Seraphine: **Either way… Let’s just get to bed.

_You arrive at your room, sensing that Seraphine wants to sleep and forget about recent events. You cannot blame her._

**Seraphine: **Goodnight, Professor… Sleep well.

_You watch Seraphine disappear before laying down. You sleep restlessly that night, your fear of the future catching up with You. In the back of your mind, You hear crying, and You know Seraphine is in despair. As much as You wish to tell her everything will be okay, to assure her that things will turn out fine, You know You would be lying to her. She would know such and realize your attempts, while appreciated, revolve around empty words. Her sobs resound in your dreams, and You feel upset guilt close in around You despite your attempts to escape it… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact about this chapter as a whole (chapter eleven): it wasn't originally going to be in the final draft of the story. There were a few struggles with deciding what was going to fit the slot of the last mission before time skip, and it wound up being this chapter, one that went back and forth between existing and not. 
> 
> This is the last chapter before the big decision at the end of Academy Phase in chapter twelve, so it's the last chapter with a regular schedule. I'm excited for chapter twelve, but first, we'll have to see where the other two versions take us. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> -Digital


	73. Chapter Eleven: Betrayal from Peace III (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Black Eagles set out to defeat the lord and lady of House Lavellan-Indech.

_The day of the mission arrives, and You wake up before getting to your feet. Seraphine manifests beside You._

**Seraphine: **We’re so close to being done with the year, and yet, I am afraid of what lies beyond… I want to get this mission over with. The sooner we take care of this revolt, the sooner we can come back here and check on Janae. I know there won’t be any changes, but part of me is still hoping things will get better… They have to get better… Right?

_You tell her that You hope so._

**Seraphine: **Yeah… Hope… That’s all we can do now, huh…?

_Seraphine disappears, and You walk to the Black Eagles homeroom. You feel oddly empty as You make your way there. Once You arrive, You open the door. You see the students alongside Herwig, Nesreen, Kaeta, Yuliya, Derric, Niko, and Arthur. You feel alright about the mission until You see Arthur, and seeing him makes You feel somewhat sick. He is aggravating, to say the least. _

**Herwig: **Good to see we’re all here.

**Nesreen: **We don’t have any time to waste. It’s time to take care of business.

**Kaeta: **You’re right. I don’t think there’s really any reason for us to stand around here for too long.

**Chris: **I want to see why Lord Lavellan-Indech betrayed everyone like this… He must have a reason… Right?

**Yuliya: **Maybe he decided to follow Bazler into the hell that inevitably awaits him in the afterlife.

**Florence: **He never wanted to rebel before though.

**Zelhira: **Something must have pushed him to do it now.

**Aquillus: **If you ask me, it was likely a ‘someone’ and not a ‘something’.

**Hegias: **I can see that as being true.

**Tuncay: **I’m betting it was Malice.

**Callisto: **He’s showing he cares little, if at all, for the common people under him.

**Polly: **We’ll just have to take care of him.

**Niko: **I don’t understand… Why would they rebel without mentioning it to us…?

**Derric: **They never bothered to say anything to us… It’s so strange…

**Adrian: **All we can do now is take care of business.

**Arthur: **And we shall! They will perish for going against the royal family!

_Everyone in the room starts to leave as Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **Arthur is a bumbling fool… I don’t mean that in the endearing way either. He would probably get his head smashed in with a rock if he took his rude mannerisms around the wrong people. Hell, he’s probably only alive at this point because he’s a noble. I hope not all nobles are like him… I mean, your students seem fine, but others… Yikes.

_You offer no outward response as Seraphine vanishes. You begin the journey to Lavellan-Indech territory, wondering when You will arrive…_

_When You finally reach your destination, You look around. There are no soldiers at all._

**Chris: **It’s so quiet… You would never expect a rebellion to be slated to start here.

**Herwig: **No person is in sight anywhere.

**Polly:** They must be hiding around here somewhere…

**Adrian: **If I had to wager a guess, it would be the main estate.

**Florence: **Looks like we have our next destination then.

**Aquillus: **They’re going on the defensive then.

**Zelhira: **They must have expected us to come here. After all, other nobles who have started rebellions had to fight us, so it isn’t hard to deduce we would appear again.

**Nesreen: **No matter how much they try to get away, it will fail.

**Hegias: **I wonder if Malice provoked them into starting it now.

**Niko: **I would be lying if I said our parents aren’t power-hungry people. In fact, they’ve always seemed to want more.

**Kaeta: **Maybe they’re involved with Malice…

**Derric: **Would they really go so far…?

**Callisto: **I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re willing to put so many innocent people at risk with this rebellion.

**Tuncay: **I guess it’s the next step for Malice.

**Yuliya: **I guess this is much larger than we thought.

**Arthur: **What monsters they are for disobeying the rule of Emperor Hendrix.

**Chris: **You’re just saying that because you’re going to have power when I ascend the throne…

**Arthur: **What was that?

**Chris: **Oh, nothing…

_Seraphine appears as the group starts to move towards the Lavellan-Indech estate once more._

**Seraphine: **If you ask me, Arthur is only siding with the Faixnoye family since it benefits him. He’s an aggravating person, to put it nicely. I doubt he’s willing to play nice given how rude he is, so he’s probably only with the Faixnoye family since he thinks they’ll win. The second there are any signs the conflict will turn the other way, he’s going to change sides. I can guarantee you that much.

_You silently agree before following after the rest of the group. You reach the primary estate of the territory and see a large building with elaborate gardens surrounding it._

**Derric: **We’re here… Home.

**Niko: **Bold of you to assume it was ever home… It’s more of a prison in my eyes.

**Adrian: **Lord and Lady Lavellan-Indech! Show yourselves!

**Nesreen: **On behalf of the Church of Seiros, we ask that you surrender!

_A man and woman appear on the primary balcony of the estate._

**Kaeta: **If you think you can get away with endangering so many people, you’re wrong!

**Maxwell: **Quiet, pathetic child. You could never begin to comprehend our actions.

**Yuliya: **You’re doing this for power… Tch. Typical.

**Joann: **Shut your mouth, whelp!

**Herwig: **Sure enough, they’ve locked themselves inside.

**Chris: **We have to get in there…

**Tuncay: **I bet they’ll all run after we take the main building.

**Hegias: **I hope we can get in.

**Florence: **They’re experienced fighters… In other words, I highly doubt they’ll even think of holding back.

**Zelhira: **I doubt they’ll leave the building until we get close.

**Aquillus:** Their attempts at a surprise attempt will surely fail.

**Polly: **We’re ready when you are, Chris.

**Callisto:** Just give us the signal.

**Chris: **Alright… Black Eagles, let’s do this!

_The battle begins. Your units start at the bottom of the map, and the goal is to seize the throne at the top of the map. Two units guard the throne, those being Maxwell and Joan. At certain checkpoints, reinforcements wearing the uniform of the Lavellan-Indech army appear alongside Malice fighters. The Black Eagles show clear signs of growth, and You feel pride swell in your chest. You know that they would not have been able to take on such an obstacle at the start of the year. You are glad to have seen them come so far._

_If You initiate combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Maxwell: **You are nothing more than children… You could not begin to comprehend our plans, and you will die for trying!

_If Chris initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **Why are you rebelling?

**Maxwell: **It’s rather simple… There are promises of power you could never understand.

**Chris: **Who said such things?

**Maxwell: **No… The true emperor of the Adrestian Empire.

**Chris: **True emperor…? I don’t understand…

**Maxwell: **I didn’t expect you to. I just ask that you die!

_If Polly initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Maxwell: **A child of Riverbane with the emperor… Why am I not surprised?

**Polly: **What are you on about?

**Maxwell: **You’re always loyal to the Faixnoye family, even when they’ve done such horrible things… You disgust me.

**Polly: **I could say the same about you. Disgusting.

**Maxwell: **Hold your tongue, brat… It’s time for you to die!

_If Tuncay initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Tuncay: **Look at you, ditching the common people because you want to start a war… You’re the type of noble I can't stand.

**Maxwell: **You couldn’t even begin to comprehend what we are doing, commoner.

**Tuncay: **Somehow, it got worse…

**Maxwell: **We nobles know best.

**Tuncay: **Know best how to be annoying, you mean?

**Maxwell: **I’ve had enough of your chatter! Perish!

_If Niko initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Niko: **I always knew you were two-faced… You may have sucked Derric into your schemes, but I could not be fooled.

**Maxwell: **Do you have any idea how concerned we were that you never returned, Niko?

**Niko: **You were using me to meet your own goals. That is not love. You never loved me.

**Maxwell: **We did that because we loved you.

**Niko: **I will tolerate no more of your lies… Be gone from this world!

_If Derric initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Derric: **How could you do this to me…?! You took me in as your own child, and now you’re betraying me?!

**Maxwell: **You were a project to improve our public image. You fell for it. That was your mistake.

**Derric: **All those years you cared for me… It was all a lie…?

**Maxwell: **Good to see you aren’t as much of a fool as you seemed to be for so long.

**Derric: **I… Just make this all stop!!

_If Arthur initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Arthur: **You are a monster for rising up against the Faixnoye family!

**Maxwell: **You have no need to side with them. Hendrix is little more than an animal.

**Arthur: **An animal who would have helped you if you had not lashed out.

**Maxwell: **Then why did he take away power from all nobles who didn’t kiss up to him? Dastard.

**Arthur: **You should have done some more manipulating then. For now, goodbye.

_If anyone else initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Maxwell: **You are fools for siding with the false emperor… Pathetic children. I will show you what awaits in the next life, and it is only hell!

_If You initiate combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Joann: **You’re the leader of this group, are you? How stupid you are for believing you could win… You made the wrong choice, and I will prove it to you!

_If Chris initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **I always heard you were a good person… The rumors were incorrect, it seems.

**Joann: **Life is not as it is in stories, child.

**Chris: **Unfortunately, I comprehend that a lot better than you realize… But I need to know… Why are you doing this?

**Joann: **It is none of your concern… Now, perish!

_If Polly initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Joann: **As usual, the Riverbane family is serving the Faixnoye line… How predictable.

**Polly: **You think you’re better for turning against them?

**Joann: **I do, as a matter of fact.

**Polly: **How annoying…

**Joann: **Enough of that. Die.

_If Tuncay initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Tuncay: **You really are the type of person I cannot stand.

**Joann: **Like I care what you think.

**Tuncay: **I never said you did. Nobles don't care for commoners like me. I figured that out a long time ago.

**Joann: **How harsh your words are. Truly, they wound me.

**Tuncay: **Oh, shut it… I've had enough of you. Get out of my damn sight.

**Joann: **You first!

_If Niko initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Niko: **Those years you spent grooming me… You wanted me to be like you.

**Joann: **It was for your own good.

**Niko: **For my own good? You don’t know what good is, putting so many people in danger with your stupid rebellion.

**Joann: **I know what I am doing.

**Niko: **Quit lying to me… You’re doing this only for yourself.

**Joann: **Quiet, Niko! This is none of your concern!

**Niko: **You’re a monster… And you shall not escape on my watch.

_If Derric initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Derric: **You… You acted as my mother when I was alone in this world, so I must ask… Why?

**Joann: **This was the best choice for everyone.

**Derric: **Everyone…? What about your soldiers? You sent them to die!

**Joann: **And your party killed them.

**Derric: **I…

**Joann: **The blame does not rest with me. Accept your own faults. You didn’t see the truth dangling in front of you, and that allowed us to succeed.

**Derric: **Stop talking already! I’m tired of hearing this!

**Joann: **Pathetic…

_If Arthur initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Joann: **If I expected anyone to betray the emperor, it would be you… Your ambitions are far greater than his ever will be.

**Arthur: **He secured me a strong place in the nobility. You could have had the same.

**Joann: **And kiss that man’s feet? Never.

**Arthur: **This is your fault then… You brought my blade down upon your neck!

_If anyone else initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Joann: **The church is full of fools if they think we will be defeated here today… Such arrogance will cost you your lives!

_When Maxwell is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Maxwell: **Do not think this is the end…

_When Joann is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Joann: **How… How revolting…

_If Arthur is defeated during the battle, this dialogue plays out._

**Arthur: **Ugh… I refuse to fall here! For the sake of Adrestia’s future, I must live…

_After the fight, You stand inside the main building of the estate looking out over the horizon. Maxwell and Joann are nearby._

**Maxwell: **If you think this is the last you’ll see of us, you’re wrong.

**Joann: **You shall not succeed again!

_Maxwell and Joann flee alongside their remaining soldiers, leaving your forces alone in the area._

**Niko: **They’re gone…

**Herwig: **We unfortunately do not have the power to chase them. We’re all exhausted.

**Chris: **I doubt this will be the last we see of them… They’ll be back.

**Kaeta: **And when they are, we’ll be ready.

**Derric: **I… I can’t believe it… They really betrayed us…

**Aquillus: **This must have been planned far in advance.

**Florence: **I think it’s time for us to return to the monastery.

**Nesreen: **Lady Aisa needs to know that they got away.

**Callisto: **She’ll be glad to send church fighters to find them.

**Zelhira: **They won’t get away as long as Lady Aisa is on the case.

**Yuliya: **The church is ruthless… They won’t escape.

**Hegias: **It’s time for us to go back…

**Tuncay:** I feel the same.

**Polly: **We shouldn’t stick around.

**Arthur: **What fiends they are…

**Adrian: **I can’t help but agree.

**Arthur: **I am afraid I will not be returning with you to the monastery… My home is near, and I have to report back. Farewell, everyone.

**Chris: **Bye, Arthur… I’ll see you later.

**Arthur: **It’s good to know I am appreciated.

_Arthur walks away._

**Polly:** Idiot… Forget him. We have to get back to the monastery.

_The group starts to walk away as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **I feel like I should be more upset that they got away, but I just feel… Empty. It’s like none of this can bother me anymore… It scares me.

_You agree silently as she disappears. You say nothing to anyone the rest of the journey back to the monastery. Upon arriving, You go to visit Aisa and Roy in the audience chamber._

**Aisa: **Professor… It is good to see you return.

**Roy: **How was the mission?

_You say hesitantly that the enemy commanders got away._

**Aisa: **I will send troops to find them immediately.

**Roy: **They’ll be taken care of as soon as possible.

**Aisa: **I’m happy to say that you have taken care of the last mission you will have for the church.

_You gasp in surprise._

**Roy: **Next month, the students will graduate, and… It will be time for you to make your own path in life.

**Aisa: **Whether you stay here or not is your choice, but… The time has come.

**Roy: **We trust you to make the right decision.

_You nod._

**Aisa: **However, the time has not yet come for that… You should return to your room. We will take care of things from here.

**Roy: **Have a nice night, Professor.

_You thank them for their time and start to walk out._

**Seraphine: **What a short conversation… It seems everyone has grown exhausted under the strain of what seems to be coming… I don’t want us to go to war, but… It’s seeming more and more likely… I think I’m going to be sick…

_You are silent as You walk to the Black Eagles classroom. You walk inside when You arrive._

**Herwig: **There’s the end of our mission.

**Niko: **I still can’t believe they got away.

**Florence: **Regardless, we have a lot to be excited about.

**Aquillus: **Graduation is steadily approaching.

**Kaeta: **Another year is about to end.

**Yuliya: **How fast it’s gone by…

**Chris: **It feels like we all met not long ago, but now…

**Callisto: **We can’t let ourselves grow apart with graduation though.

**Hegias: **Until then, we should cherish what time we have left together.

**Zelhira: **This is a time for celebration, after all.

**Tuncay: **We’ve all come rather far.

**Adrian: **And yet, I don’t feel like celebrating.

**Nesreen: **Somehow, I doubt any of us do.

**Derric: **I need some time to think…

**Aquillus: **I somehow believe all of us need a moment or two.

**Hegias: **We should go our separate ways for now.

**Nesreen: **Yeah… I don’t want to deal with this anymore.

**Niko: **I want to go and sleep…

**Derric: **I just want to forget about all of this.

**Florence: **Maybe dividing wouldn’t be such a bad idea then…

**Callisto: **It sounds like a great idea to me.

**Yuliya: **In that case, goodbye.

**Zelhira: **Have a nice night, everyone.

**Tuncay: **Try not to die, alright?

**Adrian: **I… I’ll be thinking about you all.

**Kaeta: **Thank you, Adrian.

**Polly: **Goodbye, everyone.

**Chris: **Um… Rest well.

**Herwig: **Class dismissed.

_The students all leave the room. You watch them go, unable to bring yourself to do much more. Seraphine appears near You._

**Seraphine: **Did you see how demoralized everyone was? They hated the fact that they failed in this mission. We let them get away, and even if we wouldn’t have been able to pursue them… The feeling of guilt still remains. I wish… I wish we could do something.

_You nod._

**Seraphine: **I hope things get better soon… Graduation is coming! We’re supposed to be happy. We’ve followed these students for a year, and they’re finally spreading their wings to go out in the world, but… I still feel empty. I mean, we always knew they would leave, but… I’m going to miss them. I wish they didn’t have to leave us on such a sour note. Nobody is happy as it is.

_You agree with her statement._

**Seraphine: **Everything feels like it’s going wrong. Janae hasn’t changed, the students are demoralized, and it feels like we’re on the brink of war… Nothing is going well! I hate it!

_You look down. You start to walk to your room._

**Seraphine: **I don’t think I can pretend to be excited for graduation anymore… I’m terrified of what lies beyond, of what wars could start as soon as the students leave these halls… They’re not just students anymore. They’re our kids, and I don’t want them hurt.

_You say that You feel the same._

**Seraphine: **Either way… Let’s just get to bed.

_You arrive at your room, sensing that Seraphine wants to sleep and forget about recent events. You cannot blame her._

**Seraphine: **Goodnight, Professor… Sleep well.

_You watch Seraphine disappear before laying down. You sleep restlessly that night, your fear of the future catching up with You. In the back of your mind, You hear crying, and You know Seraphine is in despair. As much as You wish to tell her everything will be okay, to assure her that things will turn out fine, You know You would be lying to her. She would know such and realize your attempts, while appreciated, revolve around empty words. Her sobs resound in your dreams, and You feel upset guilt close in around You despite your attempts to escape it… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative is up to 450,000 words now what the hell happened
> 
> -Digital


	74. Chapter Eleven: Betrayal from Peace III (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the Blue Lions set out to defeat the lord and lady of House Lavellan-Indech.

_The day of the mission arrives, and You wake up before getting to your feet. Seraphine manifests beside You._

**Seraphine: **We’re so close to being done with the year, and yet, I am afraid of what lies beyond… I want to get this mission over with. The sooner we take care of this revolt, the sooner we can come back here and check on Janae. I know there won’t be any changes, but part of me is still hoping things will get better… They have to get better… Right?

_You tell her that You hope so._

**Seraphine: **Yeah… Hope… That’s all we can do now, huh…?

_Seraphine disappears, and You walk to the Blue Lions homeroom. You feel oddly empty as You make your way there. Once You arrive, You open the door. You see the students alongside Reese, Nesreen, Kaeta, Yuliya, Derric, Niko, and Arthur. You feel alright about the mission until You see Arthur, and seeing him makes You feel somewhat sick. He is aggravating, to say the least._

**Reese: **Good. Everyone is here.

**Nesreen: **We don’t have any time to waste. It’s time to take care of business.

**Kaeta: **You’re right. I don’t think there’s really any reason for us to stand around here for too long.

**Magnolia: **Hopefully, we’ll find out today why Lord Lavellan-Indech decided to start a revolution in the first place.

**Yuliya: **Maybe he decided to follow Bazler into the hell that inevitably awaits him in the afterlife.

**Kyle: **He sure did wait a while to start fighting.

**Karim: **Something must have pushed him to start this.

**Aestlyn: **It could have been a specific person as well.

**Illona: **I wouldn’t be surprised by either of those.

**Nora: **I’m willing to bet it was Malice.

**Callisto: **He sure does seem excited to turn against his people.

**Falon: **He won’t be getting off easily for this.

**Niko: **I don’t understand… Why would they rebel without mentioning it to us…?

**Derric: **They never bothered to say anything to us… It’s so strange…

**Adrian: **All we can do now is take care of business.

**Arthur: **And we shall! They will perish for going against the royal family!

_Everyone in the room starts to leave as Seraphine appears at your side._

**Seraphine: **Arthur is a bumbling fool… I don’t mean that in the endearing way either. He would probably get his head smashed in with a rock if he took his rude mannerisms around the wrong people. Hell, he’s probably only alive at this point because he’s a noble. I hope not all nobles are like him… I mean, your students seem fine, but others… Yikes.

_You offer no outward response as Seraphine vanishes. You begin the journey to Lavellan-Indech territory, wondering when You will arrive…_

_When You finally reach your destination, You look around. There are no soldiers at all._

**Magnolia: **I don’t see anyone here… How odd.

**Reese: **It’s like nobody has been here in ages.

**Falon: **Perhaps they’re hiding nearby.

**Adrian: **If I had to wager a guess, it would be the main estate.

**Kyle: **It sounds like we have our next destination.

**Aestlyn: **They’re going on the defensive then.

**Karim: **They knew we were coming. If we’ve taken care of all the other nobles who have rebelled, it isn’t hard to put the pieces together that it would happen here too.

**Nesreen: **No matter how much they try to get away, it will fail.

**Illona: **Something probably pushed them into it now of all times.

**Niko: **I would be lying if I said our parents aren’t power-hungry people. In fact, they’ve always seemed to want more.

**Kaeta: **Maybe they’re involved with Malice…

**Derric: **Would they really go so far…?

**Cassia:** It wouldn’t surprise me, given how quick they are being to endanger all the lives of people in this territory.

**Nora: **Perhaps this is the next step in Malice’s grand schemes.

**Yuliya: **I guess this is much larger than we thought.

**Arthur: **What monsters they are for disobeying the rule of Emperor Hendrix.

**Magnolia: **You’re set to marry Chris, right?

**Arthur: **I am. What of it?

**Magnolia: **Nothing… Forget I said anything.

_Seraphine appears as the group starts to move towards the Lavellan-Indech estate once more._

**Seraphine: **If you ask me, Arthur is only siding with the Faixnoye family since it benefits him. He’s an aggravating person, to put it nicely. I doubt he’s willing to play nice given how rude he is, so he’s probably only with the Faixnoye family since he thinks they’ll win. The second there are any signs the conflict will turn the other way, he’s going to change sides. I can guarantee you that much.

_You silently agree before following after the rest of the group. You reach the primary estate of the territory and see a large building with elaborate gardens surrounding it._

**Derric: **We’re here… Home.

**Niko: **Bold of you to assume it was ever home… It’s more of a prison in my eyes.

**Adrian: **Lord and Lady Lavellan-Indech! Show yourselves!

**Nesreen: **On behalf of the Church of Seiros, we ask that you surrender!

_A man and woman appear on the primary balcony of the estate._

**Kaeta: **If you think you can get away with endangering so many people, you’re wrong!

**Maxwell: **Quiet, pathetic child. You could never begin to comprehend our actions.

**Yuliya: **You’re doing this for power… Tch. Typical.

**Joann: **Shut your mouth, whelp!

**Reese: **Locked in the building… Defensive and tactical.

**Magnolia: **We need to find a way to get inside.

**Nora: **I’m hoping they’ll scatter after the building is seized.

**Illona: **This isn’t going to be easy…

**Kyle: **If I had to guess, I would say our enemy is experienced… We should tread with caution from here on out.

**Karim: **They likely won’t show themselves until we are near.

**Aestlyn: **Be careful of a potential surprise attack.

**Falon: **Tell us when it’s time, Magnolia.

**Cassia: **Our blades are yours.

**Magnolia: **Alright, Blue Lions! Let’s get down to business!

_The battle begins. Your units start at the bottom of the map, and the goal is to seize the throne at the top of the map. Two units guard the throne, those being Maxwell and Joan. At certain checkpoints, reinforcements wearing the uniform of the Lavellan-Indech army appear alongside Malice fighters. The Blue Lions show clear signs of growth, and You feel pride swell in your chest. You know that they would not have been able to take on such an obstacle at the start of the year. You are glad to have seen them come so far._

_If You initiate combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Maxwell: **You are nothing more than children… You could not begin to comprehend our plans, and you will die for trying!

_If Magnolia initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **What is your plan? Why are you rebelling?

**Maxwell: **It’s rather simple… There are promises of power you could never understand.

**Magnolia: **Did Malice draw you in with such?

**Maxwell: **No… The true emperor of the Adrestian Empire.

**Magnolia: **True emperor? What are you talking about?

**Maxwell: **I didn’t expect you to understand. I just ask that you die!

_If Falon initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Maxwell: **Chevalier… You’re related to the Goneril family.

**Falon: **What about it?

**Maxwell: **If you had not turned against your bloodline, you would be enjoying riches beyond imagination.

**Falon: **What are you on about?

**Maxwell: **You abandoned your family, and you will regret it one day… But for now, let’s end this! 

_If Niko initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Niko: **I always knew you were two-faced… You may have sucked Derric into your schemes, but I could not be fooled.

**Maxwell: **Do you have any idea how concerned we were that you never returned, Niko?

**Niko: **You were using me to meet your own goals. That is not love. You never loved me.

**Maxwell: **We did that because we loved you.

**Niko: **I will tolerate no more of your lies… Be gone from this world!

_If Derric initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Derric: **How could you do this to me…?! You took me in as your own child, and now you’re betraying me?!

**Maxwell: **You were a project to improve our public image. You fell for it. That was your mistake.

**Derric: **All those years you cared for me… It was all a lie…?

**Maxwell: **Good to see you aren’t as much of a fool as you seemed to be for so long.

**Derric: **I… Just make this all stop!!

_If Arthur initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Arthur: **You are a monster for rising up against the Faixnoye family!

**Maxwell: **You have no need to side with them. Hendrix is little more than an animal.

**Arthur: **An animal who would have helped you if you had not lashed out.

**Maxwell: **Then why did he take away power from all nobles who didn’t kiss up to him? Dastard.

**Arthur: **You should have done some more manipulating then. For now, goodbye.

_If anyone else initiates combat with Maxwell, this dialogue plays out._

**Maxwell: **You are fools for siding with the false emperor… Pathetic children. I will show you what awaits in the next life, and it is only hell!

_If You initiate combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Joann: **You’re the leader of this group, are you? How stupid you are for believing you could win… You made the wrong choice, and I will prove it to you!

_If Magnolia initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **I always heard you were a kind, caring noble… Perhaps the rumors were wrong.

**Joann: **Life is not as it is in stories, child.

**Magnolia: **You don’t have to tell me twice… Just tell me why you’re doing this. I want to know.

**Joann: **It is none of your concern… Now, perish!

_If Falon initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Joann: **Josephine’s granddaughter… You turned against all you have known to side with the church? Pathetic.

**Falon: **What are you rambling about?

**Joann: **Your grandmother… She is much more than you realize.

**Falon: **I don’t know what you’re talking about, but--

**Joann: **Enough of that. Die.

_If Niko initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Niko: **Those years you spent grooming me… You wanted me to be like you.

**Joann: **It was for your own good.

**Niko: **For my own good? You don’t know what good is, putting so many people in danger with your stupid rebellion.

**Joann: **I know what I am doing.

**Niko: **Quit lying to me… You’re doing this only for yourself.

**Joann: **Quiet, Niko! This is none of your concern!

**Niko: **You’re a monster… And you shall not escape on my watch.

_If Derric initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Derric: **You… You acted as my mother when I was alone in this world, so I must ask… Why?

**Joann: **This was the best choice for everyone.

**Derric: **Everyone…? What about your soldiers? You sent them to die!

**Joann: **And your party killed them.

**Derric: **I…

**Joann: **The blame does not rest with me. Accept your own faults. You didn’t see the truth dangling in front of you, and that allowed us to succeed.

**Derric: **Stop talking already! I’m tired of hearing this!

**Joann: **Pathetic…

_If Arthur initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Joann: **If I expected anyone to betray the emperor, it would be you… Your ambitions are far greater than his ever will be.

**Arthur: **He secured me a strong place in the nobility. You could have had the same.

**Joann: **And kiss that man’s feet? Never.

**Arthur: **This is your fault then… You brought my blade down upon your neck!

_If anyone else initiates combat with Joann, this dialogue plays out._

**Joann: **The church is full of fools if they think we will be defeated here today… Such arrogance will cost you your lives!

_When Maxwell is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Maxwell: **Do not think this is the end…

_When Joann is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Joann: **How… How revolting…

_If Arthur is defeated during the battle, this dialogue plays out._

**Arthur: **Ugh… I refuse to fall here! For the sake of Adrestia’s future, I must live…

_After the fight, You stand inside the main building of the estate looking out over the horizon. Maxwell and Joann are nearby._

**Maxwell: **If you think this is the last you’ll see of us, you’re wrong.

**Joann: **You shall not succeed again!

_Maxwell and Joann flee alongside their remaining soldiers, leaving your forces alone in the area._

**Niko: **They’re gone…

**Reese: **I don’t think we have the power to chase them… Everyone is too tired.

**Magnolia: **Somehow, I doubt this is the last we’ll see of them… They’ll resurface one of these days.

**Kaeta: **And when they do, we’ll be ready.

**Derric: **I… I can’t believe it… They really betrayed us…

**Aestlyn: **This truly is tragic…

**Kyle: **We need to get back to Garreg Mach.

**Nesreen: **Lady Aisa needs to know that they got away.

**Cassia: **She will likely have the Knights of Seiros pursue them.

**Karim: **They can’t run forever.

**Yuliya: **The church is ruthless… They won’t escape.

**Illona: **I-I’ve had enough of this place…

**Nora: **I feel the same.

**Polly: **We shouldn’t stick around for too long.

**Arthur: **What fiends they are…

**Adrian: **I can’t help but agree.

**Arthur: **I am afraid I will not be returning with you to the monastery… My home is near, and I have to report back. Farewell, everyone.

**Magnolia: **Until we meet again. Thank you for fighting with us.

**Arthur: **It’s good to know I am appreciated.

_Arthur walks away._

**Falon: **I can’t stand him… Let’s go home.

_The group starts to walk away as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **I feel like I should be more upset that they got away, but I just feel… Empty. It’s like none of this can bother me anymore… It scares me.

_You agree silently as she disappears. You say nothing to anyone the rest of the journey back to the monastery. Upon arriving, You go to visit Aisa and Roy in the audience chamber._

**Aisa: **Professor… It is good to see you return.

**Roy: **How was the mission?

_You say hesitantly that the enemy commanders got away._

**Aisa: **I will send troops to find them immediately.

**Roy: **They’ll be taken care of as soon as possible.

**Aisa: **I’m happy to say that you have taken care of the last mission you will have for the church.

_You gasp in surprise._

**Roy: **Next month, the students will graduate, and… It will be time for you to make your own path in life.

**Aisa: **Whether you stay here or not is your choice, but… The time has come.

**Roy: **We trust you to make the right decision.

_You nod._

**Aisa: **However, the time has not yet come for that… You should return to your room. We will take care of things from here.

**Roy: **Have a nice night, Professor.

_You thank them for their time and start to walk out._

**Seraphine: **What a short conversation… It seems everyone has grown exhausted under the strain of what seems to be coming… I don’t want us to go to war, but… It’s seeming more and more likely… I think I’m going to be sick…

_You are silent as You walk to the Blue Lions classroom. You walk inside when You arrive._

**Reese: **Our mission is complete.

**Niko: **I still can’t believe they got away.

**Kyle: **At least we have good things coming.

**Aestlyn: **Graduation is in less than a moon…

**Kaeta: **Another year is about to end.

**Yuliya: **How fast it’s gone by…

**Magnolia: **It seems like we all met yesterday, but… A year has passed.

**Cassia: **We should try to remain in touch after graduation.

**Illona:** Let’s cherish what time we have remaining first.

**Karim: **We should be celebrating, not moping.

**Nora: **We have done a lot.

**Adrian: **And yet, I don’t feel like celebrating.

**Nesreen: **Somehow, I doubt any of us do.

**Derric: **I need some time to think…

**Aestlyn: **I doubt you’re alone there.

**Illona: **We should divide for the time being and reunite later on.

**Nesreen: **Yeah… I don’t want to deal with this anymore.

**Niko: **I want to go and sleep…

**Derric: **I just want to forget about all of this.

**Kyle: **I need to sleep after all that.

**Cassia: **I must agree.

**Yuliya: **In that case, goodbye.

**Karim:** Enjoy the rest of your evenings.

**Nora: **I’ll try to.

**Adrian: **I… I’ll be thinking about you all.

**Kaeta: **Thank you, Adrian.

**Falon: **Farewell, everyone.

**Magnolia: **Sleep well.

**Reese: **Class dismissed.

_The students all leave the room. You watch them go, unable to bring yourself to do much more. Seraphine appears near You._

**Seraphine: **Did you see how demoralized everyone was? They hated the fact that they failed in this mission. We let them get away, and even if we wouldn’t have been able to pursue them… The feeling of guilt still remains. I wish… I wish we could do something.

_You nod._

**Seraphine: **I hope things get better soon… Graduation is coming! We’re supposed to be happy. We’ve followed these students for a year, and they’re finally spreading their wings to go out in the world, but… I still feel empty. I mean, we always knew they would leave, but… I’m going to miss them. I wish they didn’t have to leave us on such a sour note. Nobody is happy as it is.

_You agree with her statement._

**Seraphine: **Everything feels like it’s going wrong. Janae hasn’t changed, the students are demoralized, and it feels like we’re on the brink of war… Nothing is going well! I hate it!

_You look down. You start to walk to your room._

**Seraphine: **I don’t think I can pretend to be excited for graduation anymore… I’m terrified of what lies beyond, of what wars could start as soon as the students leave these halls… They’re not just students anymore. They’re our kids, and I don’t want them hurt.

_You say that You feel the same._

**Seraphine: **Either way… Let’s just get to bed.

_You arrive at your room, sensing that Seraphine wants to sleep and forget about recent events. You cannot blame her._

**Seraphine: **Goodnight, Professor… Sleep well.

_You watch Seraphine disappear before laying down. You sleep restlessly that night, your fear of the future catching up with You. In the back of your mind, You hear crying, and You know Seraphine is in despair. As much as You wish to tell her everything will be okay, to assure her that things will turn out fine, You know You would be lying to her. She would know such and realize your attempts, while appreciated, revolve around empty words. Her sobs resound in your dreams, and You feel upset guilt close in around You despite your attempts to escape it… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I definitely typed out the script for an entire episode of anime for the fan dub I'm working on oops
> 
> -Digital


	75. Chapter Twelve: Ripped from Bliss I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You explore the monastery at the start of your final month at Garreg Mach Monastery.

_The next moon, the Lone Moon, has You feeling somewhat hopeful as soon as You wake up. Last month marked your last mission. At the end of this moon, your students will be graduating, and your debt to Garreg Mach will have been repaid. It will be time to set off and make your own path. Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **It’s almost over… It went by so quickly. I didn’t realize time could pass so quickly… Wow. I guess we should go and see Lady Aisa… Hopefully, spirits will have raised since we last saw the students.

_Seraphine vanishes as You walk to the audience chamber. Once there, You see Aisa and Roy as usual, though they share a new bubbly aura._

**Aisa: **Another year has passed… The end of this moon will mark graduation for the current class of Garreg Mach’s Officers Academy. The students will be returning home to make their own places in life.

**Roy: **As for you… You will be given the choice as to what you wish to do with your future. What lies ahead… It is in your hands now.

**Aisa: **Thanks to all you have done here at the monastery, you have built quite the reputation for yourself. No matter the path you follow, I am sure you will find success.

**Roy: **You could follow a given class back to their nation, join the church fully, become a member of the Knights of Seiros… The possibilities are infinite.

**Aisa: **When graduation draws near, we will ask you what you wish to do.

**Roy: **We shall support you fully regardless of your choice.

**Aisa: **Until then… Enjoy what little of the school year remains.

**Roy: **The graduation ceremony at the end of the month will be grand to commemorate the students moving on to create a better future.

**Aisa: **Regardless of what you choose to do… I would like you to attend.

**Roy: **This may be the last time you see all your students, and… I believe they would appreciate the send off.

_You promise to them both that You will attend the graduation ceremony._

**Aisa: **I am happy to hear it… For now, enjoy your time here. Feel free to visit anyone you wish. Times are happy now… It would be best to take advantage of it.

**Roy: **You are dismissed.

_You walk away from the audience chamber as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Graduation… What will you do afterwards? You can make your own future.

_You tell her that You are still unsure._

**Seraphine: **I understand… It is a big decision to make. Regardless, I will fully support your decision. I trust you will make the right one. Until that time comes, you had better have a good time for us both. I don’t want to wish we had done more later, you know?

_You nod as Seraphine disappears. You begin to wander around the monastery, wondering if it will be for the last time._

_You begin your exploration in the Officers Academy. You see Chris and Polly together in the Black Eagles classroom and decide to approach them._

**Chris: **Professor… The year is almost over… We’re going to miss you.

**Polly: **Unfortunately, we won’t be able to stay for this week… We’re wanted back in the Empire. The emperor himself requested our presence.

**Chris: **You can come along, if you would like… Would you want to?

_You say that You are unable to come._

**Polly: **We understand… Have a nice week, Professor.

_Note: You cannot follow Chris and Polly on the first run. Going back to the Empire with them is a bonus unlocked only after a run on the Black Eagles path is completed. After speaking with them, they leave and cannot be interacted with for the next week._

_After finishing your conversation, You move to the Blue Lions homeroom. Inside, You see Magnolia standing alone._

**Magnolia: **After I go back home, I’ll be crowned as the Queen of Faerghus… Imagine that. Queen Magnolia… I’ve learned a lot this year, and I won’t let it go to waste. I’m going to make change, no matter what I have to do for it.

_Out in the courtyard, You see Adrian near a stone pillar._

**Adrian: **Another graduation… This is truly a wonderful moment. We all deserve to enjoy ourselves… And yet, I somehow doubt everyone feels like celebrating… Even so, I’m wishing everyone the best. I have faith the future has only incredible things awaiting us all.

_You finally go the Golden Deer homeroom, where You see Raithius and Novalee talking._

**Raithius: **After this year ends, our childhood is over. It’s time for me to take over the Alliance as its ruler.

**Novalee: **And yet, some things will never change…

**Raithius: **Yeah… No matter what the world has to throw at us, it’ll always be us. You and me. Novalee and Raithius.

**Novalee: **Yes… Now and forever.

_You move to the training hall next. Once inside, You see Aquillus and Zelhira talking._

**Aquillus: **As excited as I am for graduation, I’m not sure if I want to go home quite yet.

**Zelhira: **I’m going to miss everyone here…

**Aquillus: **As will I. I pray we can stay in contact. I don’t want to disconnect from the people I’ve met.

**Zelhira: **Me neither… We have a bright future ahead of us, and we should face it together.

_Next, You speak with Kaeta, who is also in the training hall._

**Kaeta: **Captain Torryn is finally going to make me a knight after graduation! It would cause a real fuss if she did it now given how soon it is before graduation, but… I’m going to be graduating too, in a way. No more trainee Kaeta. I’m ready to go out there and kick some tail as a real knight this time!

_You move to the first floor of dorms. You see Aestlyn and Kyle together outside a dorm’s entrance._

**Aestlyn: **Kyle, I have treasured our relationship this year… I am going to miss you after the year ends.

**Kyle: **We don’t need to stay apart forever though… We should exchange letters.

**Aestlyn: **I would be honored!

**Kyle: **As would I. You truly are incredible, Kyle.

**Aestlyn: **Aw… How sweet of you to say.

**Kyle: **It’s only the truth.

_Further down the row of dorms, You see Cedric and Adeline speaking._

**Cedric: **I am to be taking over Eir territory upon arriving home… What about you?

**Adeline: **My parents have no intentions of handing the territory over to me yet… I’ll probably do whatever I want until they need me.

**Cedric: **Well… If you ever find yourself passing through my lands, I would be happy to see you visit.

**Adeline: **Thank you, Cedric… I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.

_On the second floor of dorms, You see Illona, who is standing with Sofia._

**Illona: **Well… I guess this is it.

**Sofia: **It doesn’t mean this has to be all we see of each other.

**Illona: **I wouldn’t mind talking to you more after graduation.

**Sofia: **How forward of you! Perhaps we can exchange information over tea?

**Illona: **I think I would like that.

**Sofia: **Aw, hell yeah!

_You go to the greenhouse, and inside, You see Florence observing some plants._

**Florence: **In a way, I’m going to miss this simple place… It’s not the place I visited most, but it’s the little things, you know? Everything about the monastery is perfect for me… But it’s the small things about it that are going to make me the most nostalgic once my time here is over.

_At the edge of the dock at the fishing hole, You see Hegias looking out over the water._

**Hegias: **I was so sure I wanted to go back to Evenor, to learn more from her after the year had ended, but… That’s not how it was meant to be… I still have a lot of questions for her. I’m going to find her and figure out why she did all this… That much I can promise.

_You move to the dining hall next, where You see Karim and Cassia sitting together._

**Karim: **So, Cass… I heard you were planning on becoming a knight after the year is done.

**Cassia: **I am… What about it?

**Karim: **I just wanted to say that I’m proud of you for taking that step. I can tell it’s a big deal for you.

**Cassia: **I… Thank you, Karim… I appreciate it.

**Karim: **No problem. Just be sure to visit, okay?

**Cassia: **Of course.

_Also in the dining hall is Nesreen, who is standing alone._

**Nesreen: **I’m not sure what the future has in store for me… I won’t be joining next year’s class as an honorary student. Perhaps I’ll just go back to being Lady Aisa’s messenger. Regardless, I think a lot of people will miss you… Make sure not to die out there, alright?

_The final people in the dining hall are Piers and Yuliya, who are standing together._

**Piers: **Another year gone by… And yet, the next one will start without issue.

**Yuliya: **It’s a mind-numbing cycle.

**Piers: **In a way, nothing changes each year.

**Yuliya: **Everything changes, and yet, nothing does at the same time… What a paradox.

_You go to the marketplace next, and You see Tuncay standing near the forge._

**Tuncay: **This is one of the last chances I’ll have to forge weapons before I become a knight for Adrestia… I’m trying to finish this knife in particular. I know it’s going to be important to its owner… Vasi, you’re going to love her… Here’s to hoping I can finish it in time…

_You also see Nora in the marketplace plaza, and You approach her next._

**Nora: **After the year ends, it’s back to the merchant caravan for me. We have a lot to do around the continent… Maybe our paths will cross by coincidence along the way. Only time can tell. I wouldn’t mind it one bit, that’s for sure.

_You go to the entrance hall. You see William and Lev talking once You get inside._

**William: **You know, I had no idea what to expect when I first came to the Officers Academy, but I’m glad I came here.

**Lev: **I feel the same… I’m happy that we got the chance to become friends.

**William: **We need to stay in touch, okay? No holding out on me, you got that?

**Lev: **I wouldn’t dream of it.

_You see Wynne standing alone nearby._

**Wynne: **Another year… Another set of students that comes in only to go right back out. The cycle repeats itself over and over, and yet… This year is different. I can tell. We all can… But what does it mean? That is the question.

_The final person in the entrance hall is Rodain, who You approach after finishing your previous conversation._

**Rodain: **I’m proud of how far you’ve come since first showing up here. You went from not having anywhere to go to being a top professor here. The world is your oyster at this point. Go out there and make a great future for yourself, you hear? We’re all rooting for you.

_Next, You go to the knights’ hall. You see Cordelia speaking with Miriam inside._

**Cordelia: **I’m hoping that some of the students will volunteer to join the Knights of Seiros. Some new recruits would be nice.

**Miriam: **Do you really think you will get some other knights?

**Cordelia: **I’m hoping… No way to say for sure now though.

**Miriam: **Hopeful… I can’t fault you for it given how bleak the future seems.

**Cordelia: **Everything is going to be fine.

**Miriam: **Yeah… Fine.

_After finishing in the knights’ hall, You go to the reception hall. There, You see Reese standing alone._

**Reese: **I don’t think any year will be quite like this one. I remember all my students… Soon enough, this class will appear in my dreams once again, and we can be together forever there… No matter how long they’re gone, they will always be here… Every person who has passed through these halls echoes in here forever, and… That includes you. Tell me… What will your echoes say?

_Also in the reception hall is Falon, and You walk up to her next._

**Falon: **My father has been getting sick as of late… I don’t understand. He was perfectly healthy not long ago… I have to go and see him as soon as graduation is over. I need to make sure that he’s okay… I won’t let him die on me.

_The final person in the reception hall is shown to be Callisto, who You go to speak with._

**Callisto: **This year really has changed my life. I never longed to leave my little town, but now… The world is so big. I can do anything in it… And yet, I want to go home. The world might be large, but it’s not what I need… Home is all I require in these times. I hope you find that home as well soon.

_You head towards the cathedral. Inside, You see Wolfgang standing alone._

**Wolfgang: **The Canis Mafia has only grown more violent as of late… I have to take my father and get out of there. We can’t stay with how dangerous they are. I don’t want him getting hurt… We’ll be safe though. That much I can promise.

_Next, You approach Herwig, who is speaking with Erika nearby._

**Herwig: **This will be your first graduation ceremony here, Erika…

**Erika: **And after that, I’ll see next year’s students come in.

**Herwig: **I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. It will offer a much-needed break from everything bad that’s happened lately.

**Erika: **I hope you’re right…

_You head upstairs. You see Jill standing in the infirmary alongside Janae’s sleeping form._

**Jill: **You wanted to see how she’s doing, right? She hasn’t improved at all, but… I can tell that she’s getting better. One of these days, you’ll be able to speak to her again. I’ll make sure of it. As long as Lady Aisa lives, she will as well… It will be alright. I promise.

_You go to the library, where You see Derric and Niko speaking._

**Derric: **Mother and Father have betrayed us… Betrayed all of Adrestia.

**Niko: **The monastery is our only home now.

**Derric: **I… We will have to fight them again one day… We will have to kill them.

**Niko: **When it happens, we’ll be ready… And I’ll be right here with you until then.

**Derric: **Until the end?

**Niko: **Of course.

_Finally, You head to the audience chamber, where You see Aisa and Roy talking._

**Aisa: **You have quite the choice ahead of you, don’t you, Professor?

**Roy: **I believe you’ll make the right decision… The choice that’s best for you.

**Aisa: **We have faith in you… When graduation comes, the choice will be made…

**Roy: **Bid everyone else your farewells… Your future awaits.

_You start to head back to your room as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **It feels like there’s so much pressure to do what we think is best, but no matter what… I feel like we’ll be letting somebody down. You know?

_You nod._

**Seraphine: **You have a lot to think about. I believe in you and your judgement no matter what. You can do this.

_You thank Seraphine for her encouragement._

**Seraphine: **No problem… Now, we should get to bed.

_You do so as Seraphine disappears. You think long and hard about what You will do after graduation. You could follow Chris back to the Empire and work under the emperor. You could see Magnolia crowned as the Queen of Faerghus and join her army. You could trail after Raithius and watch as he destroys the Canis Mafia. You could stay alongside Aisa and work as part of the church. You could join the Knights of Seiros and work under Cordelia’s command. The possibilities are endless. You cannot find a proper decision to make, but You hope that You will find the path that is right for You when the time finally comes… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'VE BEEN WAITING TO POST THIS UPDATE SINCE THE MIDDLE OF FEBRUARY IT'S BEEN TWO AND A HALF MONTHS MY BODY IS READY
> 
> -Digital


	76. Chapter Twelve: Ripped from Bliss II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You learn of awful news from the Adrestian Empire.

_It is the middle of the third week of the moon when You hear a knock at your door. You open your eyes and rise to your feet, wondering who would be visiting at this late hour. Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **Who could it be…? Why would anybody be here so late?

_When You open the door, You see it is none other than Novalee. She has a somber expression, and You can tell something is wrong._

**Novalee: **You are being requested to speak with Lady Aisa… We have grave news from the imperial capital.

_You hurriedly leave the room to follow Novalee to the audience chamber._

**Seraphine: **Do… Do you think something happened? Why would she be here if it wasn’t serious? I don’t know what it could be, but I have a really bad feeling about it.

_You arrive at the audience chamber and see Aisa, Roy, Chris, Magnolia, Raithius, Cordelia, and Polly standing together. All of them are looking solemn, and You can tell they are aware of something You do not know._

**Aisa: **Professor… We have awful news from Enbarr.

**Roy: **Hendrix von Faixnoye… He’s dead.

_You react with surprise._

**Magnolia: **He fell through the window of his room and died after hitting the ground many floors below.

**Chris: **He… He died while Polly and I were in the capital. After graduation, I am to be crowned as the next ruler of Adrestia.

**Polly: **Nobody knows who did it. Malice is suspected to have been involved, but we have no proof.

**Raithius: **I didn’t expect this to happen anytime soon… It’s crazy.

**Cordelia: **Tell us what happened from the start now that we’re all here. I want the full story.

**Chris: **I… I got home, and I went to see the emperor to ask him why he had requested that I come home. We didn’t get far into our conversation when somebody appeared.

**Polly: **What happened after this was a bit fuzzy for both of us…

**Chris: **This person… I didn’t recognize them. I don’t know exactly what happened, but something was slammed against my head. There was blood everywhere, and I… I think I passed out at some point, but I saw the person push the emperor against the window.

**Polly: **There was enough force behind it to send him crashing towards the ground after going through the window. The person managed to send a bookshelf falling before killing Emperor Hendrix. I was pinned underneath it and couldn’t do anything to stop it.

**Chris: **When I next came to a while later, I heard that he was dead. I think it was a Malice assassin that did it, but… I don’t have any real proof. I don’t know if it’s possible to find evidence.

**Polly: **That should cover the bulk of it.

**Raithius: **Malice is making a bold move here. Assassinating the leader of Adrestia…

**Magnolia: **They have nerve, that’s for sure.

**Novalee: **I wouldn’t say he was a particularly popular or liked man, but…

**Cordelia: **Whoever did this must have hated him.

**Roy: **We had two nobles from the Empire rebel this year. It wouldn’t surprise me if many people despised him.

**Aisa: **What matters now is that he is dead… Malice truly is trying to destabilize this continent.

**Chris: **With the death of the emperor, Malice’s corrupted nobles might try to swoop in to take the throne.

**Polly: **We’ll have to be ready and alert for when they show themselves again.

**Magnolia: **I… I’m sorry your father was killed, Chris.

**Chris: **Thank you, Magnolia… I never really got along with him well, but I still didn’t expect this.

**Raithius: **I know we don’t have much time left together, but if you need anything, we’re all here for you, alright?

**Chris: **I appreciate that.

**Novalee: **Rumors are going to spread quickly about what happened.

**Cordelia: **Those loyal to the emperor are going to be looking for the culprit. Those against him are going to be making grabs for power.

**Roy: **The Empire was thought to be the most stable out of the three primary countries on the continent… Not anymore, it seems.

**Aisa: **We need to maintain a calm front. People will turn to the church for reassurance, and I refuse to let them down.

**Cordelia: **I’ll make sure none of the students get too rowdy with this information.

**Magnolia: **It isn’t going to be easy to keep everyone calm.

**Roy: **I will do my best to relax the students’ fears.

**Raithius: **Here’s to hoping nothing else goes too horribly wrong.

**Novalee: **If you hear anything else related to his murder… Please tell us.

**Polly: **I know that I’ll have a few choice words for the culprit.

**Chris: **I just… I need to know who did it.

**Aisa: **Of course. For now, all of you should get back to your rooms.

**Cordelia: **I agree. It’s really late, and we don’t want you to get too wiped out during your last few weeks of classes.

**Roy: **We’ll tell you if anything is revealed. Until then, you are dismissed.

_The students all leave the room. You watch them go._

**Aisa: **Professor… Please be careful. Bad things are coming soon. I can feel it. I want you to be on your guard.

**Roy: **The students will need your support now more than ever. Please be there for them.

_You nod and promise to do so._

**Cordelia: **This year only gets worse, it seems… Rebellions, Malice, and now the assassination of the emperor…

**Aisa: **You should get back to bed, Professor… I apologize for waking you, but we felt as if you should know.

**Roy: **The other professors will be hearing tomorrow.

**Cordelia: **By that point, practically the whole monastery will have heard… Word travels fast.

**Aisa: **Until then… Have a nice night.

_You nod and leave the room. Seraphine appears as You start to walk back to your room._

**Seraphine: **I wouldn’t say I ever liked the man… In fact, the few times we did see him, he was acting horribly. I don’t know how anyone can enjoy being with him because of how generally unpleasant he is.

_You admit that You feel the same._

**Seraphine: **With the way he treated his daughter, I can’t blame anyone for hating him. However, I didn’t expect him to die so suddenly… And he was murdered. That just makes it worse. I don’t know how to feel about all of this.

_You tell her that You want to go and check up on Chris._

**Seraphine: **That’s a good idea. I can’t imagine how she’s feeling right now.

_You walk to the second floor of dorms as Seraphine vanishes. When You arrive, You see Chris bidding Polly goodnight. Afterwards, Chris stands at the edge of the hallway, staring out the window silently. You approach her cautiously._

**Chris: **Ack-! Professor! I-I didn’t see you there…

_You ask how she is feeling._

**Chris: **I… I think I’ll be okay. Soon. One day.

_You frown to her._

**Chris: **You know, I… I haven’t been able to cry. I know that I probably should, because he’s related to me and all that, but… I don’t know. I’m almost more worried about becoming the ruler of a country I’m unprepared to lead. Plus, even if he isn’t around to push for it, Arthur is still going to want to marry me. Power-hungry little… Oh, forgive my ranting. I didn’t mean to go on.

_You tell her that feeling this way is normal._

**Chris: **Grief is a funny thing… I can’t cry, and I can barely remember what happened. It’s all just… A blur of blood and fear. I… Honestly, I can hardly tell if I miss him or not.

_You admit that You wouldn’t blame her for not missing him._

**Chris: **That’s right. You saw how harsh he can… Could get. It was before the Bazler mission. How embarrassing.

_You ask how that would be embarrassing._

**Chris: **I didn’t exactly want to show off how rude he could get. He always treated me horribly, but I have a duty to my country to put up a front of caring. I don’t want them labeling me as awful before I even ascend to the throne. And yet… I don’t know if I miss him. Part of me hates him for all that he did.

_You say that You understand that._

**Chris: **There are worse people out there, so do I even have a right to…? I don’t know. I just… I have a lot of thinking to do.

_You suggest that getting some extra sleep could help her._

**Chris: **Yes… You’re right.

_You tell her that if she needs anything, You are happy to help._

**Chris: **Thank you, Professor… Goodnight.

_You watch Chris go into her room. Seraphine appears as You start the trek back to your own room._

**Seraphine: **She doesn’t seem as affected as I would have expected… Given how sensitive we’ve seen her to be up to this point, I would have expected messy emotions, but… She’s so composed. It’s impressive.

_You nod as You enter your room._

**Seraphine: **Whatever happened at the capital… It has to be big. I don’t know who killed him, but I know we’ll find out one of these days… Until then, we should get to bed.

_You agree and go to sleep. Your dreams are filled with potential ways the emperor’s murder could have played out, though You know none of them are fully true. You long to know the truth, even if it lies beyond your reach…_

_When You wake up the next morning, Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **We should go and see what the students are saying… It’s late enough in the day that most of them are probably awake. I bet they’ve heard about the emperor as well… I hope they don’t react too negatively.

_Seraphine disappears, and You begin to wander around the monastery. You start with the Officers Academy. In the courtyard, You see Lev standing with Adeline._

**Lev: **The emperor of Adrestia was killed…

**Adeline: **I never heard particularly great things about him, but…

**Lev: **You didn’t see this coming?

**Adeline: **Yeah…

**Lev: **I don’t think any of us did.

**Adeline: **And that’s the scariest part…

_Inside the Blue Lions classroom, You see Karim and Aestlyn together._

**Karim: **I still can’t believe it.

**Aestlyn: **First, it was the king of Faerghus. Then, it was the sovereign duke of the Alliance. Finally, it’s the emperor…

**Karim: **All the leaders of the nations have died, leaving replacements behind.

**Aestlyn: **It’s suspicious… I have to wonder if there’s something that connects them all…

_You go to the training hall next. Inside, You notice Kaeta and Piers talking._

**Piers: **Pushed from a window…

**Kaeta: **What about it?

**Piers: **Isn’t it odd? The emperor might be a giant of a man, but there are other ways to take people like that down.

**Kaeta: **You mean it’s odd that he was pushed through a window instead of something else.

**Piers: **Yes… I have to wonder if the culprit was someone small enough to struggle with overpowering him… But that’s just a theory.

**Kaeta: **It’s something to keep in mind at least.

_On the bottom floor of dorms, You see Hegias chatting with Aquillus._

**Hegias: **I had been hoping to hear the truth from the emperor about Evenor working there…

**Aquillus: **Because she wouldn’t give you the answers herself?

**Hegias: **Yes… However, it seems that he took these secrets to the grave.

**Aquillus: **It truly is a tragedy… The secrets lost. Not that the man died. He fully deserved it.

_Further down the row, You encounter Zelhira and Tuncay talking._

**Tuncay: **Looks like the emperor finally went to meet his maker.

**Zelhira: **What do you think about it?

**Tuncay: **Given how horribly he treated commoners, I’d say he got what was coming to him.

**Zelhira: **That’s a bold statement… And yet, it’s not one I entirely disagree with.

**Tuncay: **He bought slaves from Bazler. That should be enough justification.

**Zelhira: **What a monster…

_You go to the second floor of dorms. There, You run into Cassia and Illona._

**Cassia: **Even with the death of the emperor, we cannot forget his sins.

**Illona: **He was an awful person… We can’t let his death overshadow what he did.

**Cassia: **Exactly. The horrors he visited upon this world are too many to count.

**Illona: **I… I don’t even care that he died, honestly… I’m just scared for how it will affect others.

**Cassia: **I understand completely.

_You go back downstairs, and You enter the greenhouse. You see Cedric and William chatting._

**Cedric: **The emperor was hardly an ideal person to be around.

**William: **He treated so many people like garbage, including his own daughter.

**Cedric: **Someone so undignified and awful should not be allowed to rule.

**William: **Luckily, he won’t make another decision ever again.

**Cedric: **It’s odd to think about.

**William: **And yet, I doubt it’s unwelcome.

_You leave the greenhouse and see Nesreen and Adrian together on the dock of the fishing hole._

**Nesreen: **I heard that the people of Adrestia are celebrating the death of the emperor.

**Adrian: **I knew people didn’t like him, but I didn’t realize it went that far.

**Nesreen: **Hate of him runs deep both in and out of his nation.

**Adrian: **He did so much… I can’t blame people for despising him, and yet…

**Nesreen: **Thinking of him as dead is still weird.

**Adrian: **Yeah… Exactly.

_You move to the dining hall. Inside, You see Nora and Kyle._

**Nora: **I always heard of the emperor as a man with enough patience to test a rock.

**Kyle: **He rarely ever left the palace, and he certainly didn’t ease the suffering of others.

**Nora: **I don’t know who killed him, but Malice or not, there are going to be some people who are thankful.

**Kyle: **Somehow, I can’t blame them in the slightest…

_The next people You see are Sofia and Wolfgang, who are also in the dining hall._

**Sofia: **I don’t know what to think of all this… It happened so fast.

**Wolfgang: **Ending the year like this… It’s somehow fitting given how much has happened as of late.

**Sofia: **We were feeling proud and confident, but… It all crashed.

**Wolfgang: **Our excitement was built on a shaky foundation from the start, and… It’s starting to fall apart.

**Sofia: **I don’t know how I thought the year would end, but…

**Wolfgang: **None of us could have expected this.

_You go to the marketplace. You see Florence and Callisto there._

**Florence: **The emperor is dead… I don’t care.

**Callisto: **He took away power from his nobles, but he still didn’t moderate them.

**Florence: **He took power not because the nobles were misusing it, but because he was selfish.

**Callisto: **And then he left all the common people to suffer on their own…

**Florence: **Is he even worthy of the title of emperor?

**Callisto: **I’m going to make a bold move and say no.

_You move next to the entrance hall. Yuliya and Wynne are speaking inside._

**Yuliya: **An assassination…

**Wynne: **He was known to buy women from Bazler to be his servants.

**Yuliya: **Given how many of those people were immigrants from other nations, it wouldn’t surprise me if he hated other races on top of being the worst when it came to treating other people.

**Wynne: **I’m not surprised he wound up being killed. I’m just shocked someone got away with it. This was no small feat.

**Yuliya: **Everyone is thankful for it though.

**Wynne: **Such is the way of bad rulers, it seems.

_Also in the entrance hall are Miriam and Rodain._

**Rodain: **I don’t even know what to say at this point..

**Miriam: **You? Speechless? I never thought I would see the day.

**Rodain: **I’m being serious, Miriam.

**Miriam: **I know.

**Rodain: **I just… I don’t know.

**Miriam: **I… I understand.

_You go to the reception hall. You see Raithius and Novalee talking inside._

**Raithius: **His death doesn’t even feel real.

**Novalee: **The assassination of the emperor… Do you think it has something to do with Malice?

**Raithius: **It has to be someone with a particular reason to hate him.

**Novalee: **A lot of people disliked the man. Narrowing it down is going to be nearly impossible.

**Raithius: **Still, I’m sure we’ll find the answer one day. We have to.

**Novalee: **If you’re so sure…

_You also see Magnolia speaking with Falon._

**Magnolia: **If Malice was involved with the death of my father…

**Falon: **You think they’re involved with this murder as well.

**Magnolia: **It wouldn’t surprise me… There’s no conclusive proof yet, but…

**Falon: **We’re going to find out one day. I’m sure of it.

_You go to the stables, where You run into Chris and Polly._

**Chris: **I still can’t believe that he’s dead.

**Polly: **It’s not something that can be easily accepted.

**Chris: **I know it won’t make Arthur leave me alone, but… I pray he stops pursuing a marriage I don’t want now that the emperor isn’t around to push for it.

**Polly: **It won’t happen… But we can still hope… The emperor already died. Maybe we’ll be gifted with another miracle.

_You go to the knights’ hall. Inside, You observe Cordelia standing alone._

**Cordelia: **I don’t know who could have killed him… Practically everyone in Adrestia has a reason to hate him though. The nobles are mad he took away their power while the commoners wish he didn’t neglect them so much. It’s a dreadful cycle… I have to wonder if he deserved to die, but who am I to say?

_You move to the cathedral. Once there, You see Herwig and Erika chatting._

**Erika: **I always heard he was an unkind man.

**Herwig: **Father spoke with him once in a while, and he hardly had a good thing to say about the emperor.

**Erika: **I’m not fond of our father, but… I suppose we can bond over our mutual dislike of the emperor.

**Herwig: **It’s the only thing we have in common, but it’s something.

_You go to the second floor. You see Jill and Reese standing in the infirmary._

**Reese: **Any updates on Ms. McCreary?

**Jill: **Nothing… It’s been quite some time now…

**Reese: **It will take her a while to recover from what happened then… I’m worried.

**Jill: **Well… You aren’t the only one.

_You move to the library, where You encounter Niko and Derric._

**Niko: **Derric… Do you think our parents were involved with the emperor’s death?

**Derric: **I don’t know what to think anymore.

**Niko: **We have no evidence, but it’s food for thought, I suppose…

**Derric: **That’s one way to put it.

_Finally, You see Aisa and Roy in the audience chamber._

**Aisa: **How are you feeling?

_You admit that You are overwhelmed._

**Roy: **That is natural… This is the perfect way to finish off a string of already awful incidents.

**Aisa: **If you need any help getting through this, all of us are here for you.

**Roy: **Even if you didn’t know him well, the news is still shocking and deals a mighty blow to morale.

**Aisa: **However, you are not alone. All of us are here for you.

**Roy: **Exactly. All you need to do is say the word.

_You head back to your room after finishing your conversation with them. Seraphine appears beside You._

**Seraphine: **It still doesn’t feel real… I don’t know what else to say. Should it feel real? I’m not sure… Let’s just get some rest.

_You go to sleep soon after. You are more uncertain of the future than ever before. Graduation is in just a few short weeks, but You do not know if You will be able to handle what lies beyond the ceremony… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of my favorite releases of the whole script you have no idea
> 
> -Digital


	77. Chapter Twelve: Ripped from Bliss III (Golden Deer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You make the choice to follow Raithius back to the Leicester Alliance, but disaster strikes soon after...

_On the day of graduation, You wake up rather early. Seraphine appears behind You, a sad smile on her face._

**Seraphine: **This is it… This is one of the last times we’re going to be able to see your students. They’re finally ready to go out and make their own world.

_You nod sadly and start to walk up to the audience chamber. When You arrive, You see Aisa and Cordelia standing with the three house leaders. No other people are present._

**Aisa: **Today is the day.

**Cordelia: **All of our kids are going to be heading out and graduating soon… How incredible.

**Chris: **This year went by so fast… I’m going to miss this place.

**Magnolia: **I’ve really grown a lot here. I hope I can take that growth and utilize it when I become the queen of Faerghus.

**Raithius: **It’s unfortunate that we’re going while Malice is still out there, but… I still think we’ve done a lot this year.

**Aisa: **Professor, the time has come for you to choose your own path. The future is yours to make. 

**Cordelia: **Any one of us would be happy to have you as part of our company.

**Chris: **We know that you’ll make the choice that’s right for you.

**Magnolia: **We won’t judge you at all. Promise.

**Raithius: **So, Professor… What will it be?

_You look at all of their expectant, waiting faces. In the end, your gaze lingers on Raithius, and You realize that You wish to be with the Golden Deer. You voice this, confirming your allegiance when asked._

**Raithius: **Welcome to the forces of Leicester, Professor. We’re glad to have you.

**Aisa: **The graduation ceremony will be starting soon. We should go and get ready.

**Cordelia: **I agree. We don’t want to keep those kids waiting for too long.

**Magnolia: **The future is here already… How incredible.

**Chris: **It doesn’t even feel real…

_You walk out of the audience chamber alongside Raithius, leaving the other four behind to talk to each other._

**Raithius: **Professor, when we get back to Leicester, I’m going to do all I can to give you a high-ranking place among my forces. After all you’ve done for me, it’s only fair that I reward such with high praise.

_You thank him for such but say that You truly don’t need much._

**Raithius: **Oh, you aren’t getting off that easily. I know what you’re going to get, and you’re going to have to deal with it. Understood?

_You nod hesitantly._

**Raithius: **I’m glad we understand one another. Now, we should go and get ready for the graduation ceremony. You’re going to be sitting with the Golden Deer. I don’t think we’ll have time to officially explain to them that you’ll be coming along with us, but I bet they’ll get the picture when they see you around.

_You agree._

**Raithius: **Anyways, let’s get to it. It’s good to have you with me, Professor.

_You watch Raithius walk away as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **The Golden Deer, huh… Your time as a teacher has come to a close, and now, you’ll be part of the Leicester army. Times sure do change quickly.

_You nod and follow Raithius when Seraphine vanishes. You cannot help but think about the future and what it could possibly bring as You help to prepare for the graduation ceremony._

_A few hours later, You find yourself sitting next to Raithius in the courtyard of the Officers Academy where the graduation is taking place. You look over to him, and he flashes You a grin._

**Raithius: **This is our last little song and dance as students… After the graduation ends, we can expect a large party to celebrate our achievements in the past year. I’m sure it’s going to be a lot of fun. After all, we want to leave this place behind with good memories. We’ll all look back on these times fondly for years, and this is our last chance to make something happen.

_You nod to him before turning your attention towards the open space acting as a mock stage. Aisa is standing before the crowd, a small and serene smile on her features._

**Aisa: **Another year has come and gone at the Officers Academy… Another class has been taught and is ready to leave these cherished halls behind. The future awaits you all. You were invited here because you are the best and the brightest on the continent. It is your job to carve a fate for both yourself and those around you. Only you can say what you do with your future, so I implore you to enjoy it.

_Applause rises up from the crowd, and You join in on the clapping._

**Aisa: **I thank all of you for coming here today. It is time that we--

_Aisa is cut off when Cordelia runs in._

**Cordelia: **Lady Aisa!

**Aisa: **What is it?

**Cordelia: **There are soldiers from the Adrestian Empire surrounding the monastery! They’re going to attack!

**Raithius: **No… They can’t be serious… Right?

**Aisa: **Students, you have one final mission. All knights and students are to take up arms immediately. Please… Do not get yourselves killed. I beg of you. Everyone else, evacuate the monastery. Stay safe. Please.

_The crowd erupts into chaos. You remain close to Raithius._

**Raithius: **Come on. We have to go and grab our weapons. Graduation was just postponed, and I’m not going to let these clowns get away with it.

_You follow after him as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Attackers from the Adrestian Empire? But Hendrix is dead, and Chris is here! How could somebody be invading the monastery?! I don’t get it, but I’m going to try and figure it out. You can count on that much.

_You nod your agreement, and Seraphine disappears. The world feels as if it is spinning around You, but You still manage to follow Raithius and find a weapon._

**Raithius: **Alright… It’s go time. Let’s defend the monastery that’s done so much for us already!

_You run after Raithius to arrive outside the monastery alongside the other house leaders. Once there,You see many soldiers in the Adrestian Empire’s armor. There are too many to count, but You notice one figure standing at the front of the crowd._

**Chris: **Argades?!

**Magnolia: **Who is that? How do you know him?

**Chris: **Argades von Doroftie. He’s the heir of a minor house in the Adrestian Empire. But why is he here with all those soldiers?

**Raithius: **Whatever his reason is, I doubt it’s anything good.

_You turn your attention to Argades._

**Argades: **Archbishop, I demand that you hand over the false emperor at once!

**Aisa: **What is he talking about…?!

**Cordelia: **If I had any ideas, I would have told you already.

**Chris: **False emperor…? Explain yourself at once!

**Argades: **Garreg Mach Monastery is harboring the killer of the previous emperor, and I demand that she be handed over for execution!

**Chris: **Me…? But Malice--

**Argades: **Malice had nothing to do with this.

**Chris: **What are you--

**Argades: **I’m the leader of the Malice factions in the Adrestian Empire. If one of my men had killed that coward, I would know about it.

**Magnolia: **The leader of Malice?!

**Raithius: **But only in the Adrestian Empire… There are multiple leaders.

**Argades: **Give me what I want immediately, and if you dare to defy me, this monastery will be swallowed up by my forces within the next day!

**Cordelia: **Lady Aisa, what do we do?!

**Aisa: **I…

**Argades: **The choice is yours, Archbishop. Surrender or be destroyed. My forces far outnumber yours, and you will lose this battle.

**Chris: **Those aren’t just Malice forces… That’s the entire damn Adrestian army!

**Magnolia: **How could he have done all this so quickly…?

**Raithius: **He’s a lot more influential than he let on.

**Cordelia: **Lady Aisa, we’re all ready to fight if you think that would be best.

**Aisa: **We have no choice… To arms, everyone!

_You ready your weapons and follow Raithius to where the other Golden Deer are positioned. The map is filled with enemies from the Adrestian Empire and Malice, and your forces are clearly outnumbered. All recruited characters are together and are required for this map. All fighters who have not been recruited are green units positioned near yours at the top of the map. The green units who are defeated will retreat using their retreat quotes from when they are playable. Aisa stands at the center of the top of the map with Cordelia stationed near her._

**Raithius: **It looks like that graduation ceremony is going to need to wait until after we take care of this.

**Novalee: **If we can even win… Look at how many of them there are.

**Cedric: **This has clearly been pending for a long time.

**Sofia: **This was planned a long time ago.

**Wolfgang: **Look on the horizon… There are more fighters from Malice coming this way.

**William: **I bet they’re from the other forces of Malice.

**Lev: **We can’t hope to win this…

**Adeline: **What can we even do…?

**Jill: **Fight. That’s our only option. If we surrendered, we’d all be murdered. We can’t go down without a fight.

**Raithius: **Exactly. Get ready to fight, everyone! We can’t afford to be defeated here!

_The battle begins. The Golden Deer fight with a sense of experienced desperation, trying to push back the foes. Hopelessness is already starting to settle in, and despite everyone’s wishes to live, there is a common belief that surviving to the end of the fight is not guaranteed. The mission is to defend the tiles behind Aisa while keeping her and Cordelia alive for twelve turns. Argades is positioned at the bottom of the map surrounded by countless fighters, and it seems nearly impossible to break through his ranks. If Argades is defeated, the map ends early._

_If You initiate combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **You are a true fool for coming after me… It matters little though. I will run my blade through you regardless.

_If Chris initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **False emperor…

**Argades: **You know it to be true just as much as I do.

**Chris: **…

**Argades: **You have been living a lie, living the life that should have been given to another from the start!

**Chris: **Argades--

**Argades: **Shut up! Just die already, damn it!

_If Polly initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Polly: **What do you know?

**Argades: **What don’t I know is the real question here.

**Polly: **You--

**Argades: **I’m a lot smarter than you realize.

**Polly: **You are making a mistake.

**Argades: **By taking what is rightfully mine? Ha! Of course you would say that since you’re the princess’ lapdog!

**Polly: **She will be a far better ruler than you could ever hope to be!

**Argades: **She will not survive this battle! You will die just like her, so make your peace now!

_If Magnolia initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **I don’t know who you are, but know that you won’t get away with this!

**Argades: **Josefa… You know, a lot of people in Malice hate your father for what he did.

**Magnolia: **I never said I agreed with what he did.

**Argades: **If only they knew that… Perhaps your life could be spared then.

**Magnolia: **What are you--

**Argades: **Enough. I hope you’ve made peace with whatever god you pray to, because you’re going to meet them!

_If Raithius initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **I don’t know what you’re getting at here. Could you explain it for me?

**Argades: **It’s none of your concern.

**Raithius: **Touchy, aren’t we?

**Argades: **Still your tongue! I’ve had enough of this!

**Raithius: **What a coincidence! So have I!

**Argades: **Die already!

_If anyone else initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **Fighting me? Pathetic… You don’t stand a chance!

_If Argades is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **Fool… Don’t believe that this ends the battle!

_If the map ends without Argades being defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **How stubborn you are… However, do not believe that this means you will succeed!

_Both options converge here._

**Argades: **I’ve had enough of this fighting. It grows tiresome. Swarm the monastery. Don’t let anyone get away. Kill them all!

_You remain near Raithius as chaos breaks out. Soldiers seem to be running every which way._

**Aisa: **Everyone, run! Try to escape! Evacuate the monastery!

**Raithius: **You heard her. We have to get out of here. Follow me!

_You run alongside Raithius, but You stop when You notice that You both are cornered._

**Raithius: **Damn it, we’re stuck! What do we do?!

_You tell him to run._

**Raithius: **What?!

_You volunteer to stay behind and cover for his escape._

**Raithius: **I can’t just leave you behind like this!

_You tell him that he is the future leader of Leicester, and he has to escape for the future of his nation._

**Raithius: **But--

_You make it clear that You have made up your mind. Raithius hesitates._

**Raithius: **I… I understand, Professor… I will be awaiting your arrival in Deirdru.

_You watch as Raithius disappears into the crowd. You do your best to fight through the countless Malice soldiers around You, but You are being worn down. A figure appears behind You, though You are unable to see who it is. You hear a voice come from a man._

**???: **You have been a thorn in our side for far too long… It’s time for you to die!

_You feel a sharp pain in your back, and You know that You have been stabbed. Shock shows itself on your features._

**???: **Goodbye, Professor.

_The person behind You disappears. You stumble, hearing Seraphine’s voice in the back of your head._

**Seraphine: **Divine Pulse, I call upon your power! O Holy Sothis… Bring us salvation!

_The pain in your back vanishes, and your legs give out from beneath You. The ground beneath You has grown weak from the invasion, and You feel it crumble. A cry of surprise and fear forces itself from your mouth before your body goes limp, and your face goes to a resting position. You feel yourself falling before there is a flash of green light, and everything goes to black…_

**PART ONE: WHITE CLOUDS**

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS THE HYPE MAKES ME SCREAM I'M SO EXCITED WELCOME TO TIME SKIP BABY
> 
> You know after we get through the other four versions
> 
> -Digital


	78. Chapter Twelve: Ripped from Bliss III (Blue Lions)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You make the choice to follow Magnolia back to the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, but disaster strikes soon after...

_On the day of graduation, You wake up rather early. Seraphine appears behind You, a sad smile on her face._

**Seraphine: **This is it… This is one of the last times we’re going to be able to see your students. They’re finally ready to go out and make their own world.

_You nod sadly and start to walk up to the audience chamber. When You arrive, You see Aisa and Cordelia standing with the three house leaders. No other people are present._

**Aisa: **Today is the day.

**Cordelia: **All of our kids are going to be heading out and graduating soon… How incredible.

**Chris: **This year went by so fast… I’m going to miss this place.

**Magnolia: **I’ve really grown a lot here. I hope I can take that growth and utilize it when I become the queen of Faerghus.

**Raithius: **It’s unfortunate that we’re going while Malice is still out there, but… I still think we’ve done a lot this year.

**Aisa: **Professor, the time has come for you to choose your own path. The future is yours to make. 

**Cordelia: **Any one of us would be happy to have you as part of our company.

**Chris: **We know that you’ll make the choice that’s right for you.

**Magnolia: **We won’t judge you at all. Promise.

**Raithius: **So, Professor… What will it be?

_You look at all of their expectant, waiting faces. In the end, your gaze lingers on Magnolia, and You realize that You wish to be with the Blue Lions. You voice this, confirming your allegiance when asked._

**Magnolia: **Thank you for joining me, Professor. You won’t regret this.

**Aisa: **The graduation ceremony will be starting soon. We should go and get ready.

**Cordelia: **I agree. We don’t want to keep those kids waiting for too long.

**Raithius: **Time sure has flown by…

**Chris: **It doesn’t even feel real…

_You walk out of the audience chamber alongside Magnolia, leaving the other four behind to talk to each other._

**Magnolia: **When we return to Faerghus, I’ll set you up with an incredible life. I won’t force you to remain by my side, as you should have the choice to decide what you wish to do with your life. It’s the least I can do for you.

_You thank her for such but say that You truly don’t need much._

**Magnolia: **I’m happy to provide. Consider this an order from your new superior. You have to enjoy yourself, okay?

_You nod hesitantly._

**Magnolia: **Good. Thank you for agreeing to it, Professor. We should probably go and help with setting up for the ceremony. You should be with me and the rest of the Blue Lions. We won’t have time to tell them that you’re coming back to Faerghus, but I assume that they’ll understand when they see you with me.

_You agree._

**Magnolia: **Perfect! Now, let’s get on it. Thank you for joining me. I really do appreciate it. I don’t think I could ever begin to tell you how much this means to me.

_You watch Magnolia walk away as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **The Blue Lions, huh… Your time as a teacher has come to a close, and now, you’ll be part of the Faerghus army. Times sure do change quickly.

_You nod and follow Magnolia when Seraphine vanishes. You cannot help but think about the future and what it could possibly bring as You help to prepare for the graduation ceremony._

_A few hours later, You find yourself sitting next to Magnolia in the courtyard of the Officers Academy where the graduation is taking place. You look over to her, and she flashes You a grin._

**Magnolia: **This is our last chance to have fun here. After graduation, we will not be students anymore. We will become the adults we always knew we would become. It’s going to be a unique experience, but I’m sure we’ll be alright. Plus, we get one last celebration to make another few good memories before leaving. What more could you ask for?

_You nod to her before turning your attention towards the open space acting as a mock stage. Aisa is standing before the crowd, a small and serene smile on her features._

**Aisa: **Another year has come and gone at the Officers Academy… Another class has been taught and is ready to leave these cherished halls behind. The future awaits you all. You were invited here because you are the best and the brightest on the continent. It is your job to carve a fate for both yourself and those around you. Only you can say what you do with your future, so I implore you to enjoy it.

_Applause rises up from the crowd, and You join in on the clapping._

**Aisa: **I thank all of you for coming here today. It is time that we--

_Aisa is cut off when Cordelia runs in._

**Cordelia: **Lady Aisa!

**Aisa: **What is it?

**Cordelia: **There are soldiers from the Adrestian Empire surrounding the monastery! They’re going to attack!

**Magnolia: **Wait… What did she say?!

**Aisa: **Students, you have one final mission. All knights and students are to take up arms immediately. Please… Do not get yourselves killed. I beg of you. Everyone else, evacuate the monastery. Stay safe. Please.

_The crowd erupts into chaos. You remain close to Magnolia._

**Magnolia: **Let’s go grab weapons. We’ll need them to fight off the attackers. I hope we all get through this…

_You follow after her as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Attackers from the Adrestian Empire? But Hendrix is dead, and Chris is here! How could somebody be invading the monastery?! I don’t get it, but I’m going to try and figure it out. You can count on that much.

_You nod your agreement, and Seraphine disappears. The world feels as if it is spinning around You, but You still manage to follow Magnolia and find a weapon._

**Magnolia: **Let’s get going. The monastery will not fall on my watch!

_You run after Magnolia to arrive outside the monastery alongside the other house leaders. Once there,You see many soldiers in the Adrestian Empire’s armor. There are too many to count, but You notice one figure standing at the front of the crowd._

**Chris: **Argades?!

**Magnolia: **Who is that? How do you know him?

**Chris: **Argades von Doroftie. He’s the heir of a minor house in the Adrestian Empire. But why is he here with all those soldiers?

**Raithius: **Whatever his reason is, I doubt it’s anything good.

_You turn your attention to Argades._

**Argades: **Archbishop, I demand that you hand over the false emperor at once!

**Aisa: **What is he talking about…?!

**Cordelia: **If I had any ideas, I would have told you already.

**Chris: **False emperor…? Explain yourself at once!

**Argades: **Garreg Mach Monastery is harboring the killer of the previous emperor, and I demand that she be handed over for execution!

**Chris: **Me…? But Malice--

**Argades: **Malice had nothing to do with this.

**Chris: **What are you--

**Argades: **I’m the leader of the Malice factions in the Adrestian Empire. If one of my men had killed that coward, I would know about it.

**Magnolia: **The leader of Malice?!

**Raithius: **But only in the Adrestian Empire… There are multiple leaders.

**Argades: **Give me what I want immediately, and if you dare to defy me, this monastery will be swallowed up by my forces within the next day!

**Cordelia: **Lady Aisa, what do we do?!

**Aisa: **I…

**Argades: **The choice is yours, Archbishop. Surrender or be destroyed. My forces far outnumber yours, and you will lose this battle.

**Chris: **Those aren’t just Malice forces… That’s the entire damn Adrestian army!

**Magnolia: **How could he have done all this so quickly…?

**Raithius: **He’s a lot more influential than he let on.

**Cordelia: **Lady Aisa, we’re all ready to fight if you think that would be best.

**Aisa: **We have no choice… To arms, everyone!

_You ready your weapons and follow Magnolia to where the other Blue Lions are positioned. The map is filled with enemies from the Adrestian Empire and Malice, and your forces are clearly outnumbered. All recruited characters are together and are required for this map. All fighters who have not been recruited are green units positioned near yours at the top of the map. The green units who are defeated will retreat using their retreat quotes from when they are playable. Aisa stands at the center of the top of the map with Cordelia stationed near her._

**Magnolia: **I don’t think we’re going to be graduating today… I have a really bad feeling about this. I’m going to be sick.

**Falon: **There are so many of them!

**Cassia: **I doubt this was a sudden plan.

**Kyle: **This was plotted ages ago.

**Karim: **Look over there… There are still more fighters coming.

**Nora: **I bet they’re from Malice as well.

**Illona: **This isn’t going to end well…

**Aestlyn: **What are we supposed to do?

**Reese: **Our only choice is to fight. We’ll die if we surrender. I won’t go down without a fight, and you shouldn’t either.

**Magnolia:** He’s right. Get ready to battle one last time as the Blue Lions! We won’t fall today!

_The battle begins. The Blue Lions fight with a sense of experienced desperation, trying to push back the foes. Hopelessness is already starting to settle in, and despite everyone’s wishes to live, there is a common belief that surviving to the end of the fight is not guaranteed. The mission is to defend the tiles behind Aisa while keeping her and Cordelia alive for twelve turns. Argades is positioned at the bottom of the map surrounded by countless fighters, and it seems nearly impossible to break through his ranks. If Argades is defeated, the map ends early._

_If You initiate combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **You are a true fool for coming after me… It matters little though. I will run my blade through you regardless.

_If Chris initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **False emperor…

**Argades: **You know it to be true just as much as I do.

**Chris: **…

**Argades: **You have been living a lie, living the life that should have been given to another from the start!

**Chris: **Argades--

**Argades: **Shut up! Just die already, damn it!

_If Polly initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Polly: **What do you know?

**Argades: **What don’t I know is the real question here.

**Polly: **You--

**Argades: **I’m a lot smarter than you realize.

**Polly: **You are making a mistake.

**Argades: **By taking what is rightfully mine? Ha! Of course you would say that since you’re the princess’ lapdog!

**Polly: **She will be a far better ruler than you could ever hope to be!

**Argades: **She will not survive this battle! You will die just like her, so make your peace now!

_If Magnolia initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **I don’t know who you are, but know that you won’t get away with this!

**Argades: **Josefa… You know, a lot of people in Malice hate your father for what he did.

**Magnolia: **I never said I agreed with what he did.

**Argades: **If only they knew that… Perhaps your life could be spared then.

**Magnolia: **What are you--

**Argades: **Enough. I hope you’ve made peace with whatever god you pray to, because you’re going to meet them!

_If Raithius initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **I don’t know what you’re getting at here. Could you explain it for me?

**Argades: **It’s none of your concern.

**Raithius: **Touchy, aren’t we?

**Argades: **Still your tongue! I’ve had enough of this!

**Raithius: **What a coincidence! So have I!

**Argades: **Die already!

_If anyone else initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **Fighting me? Pathetic… You don’t stand a chance!

_If Argades is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **Fool… Don’t believe that this ends the battle!

_If the map ends without Argades being defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **How stubborn you are… However, do not believe that this means you will succeed!

_Both options converge here._

**Argades: **I’ve had enough of this fighting. It grows tiresome. Swarm the monastery. Don’t let anyone get away. Kill them all!

_You remain near Magnolia as chaos breaks out. Soldiers seem to be running every which way._

**Aisa: **Everyone, run! Try to escape! Evacuate the monastery!

**Magnolia: **She’s right! Follow me, Professor! Let’s try to escape!

_You run alongside Magnolia, but You stop when You notice that You both are cornered._

**Magnolia: **Come on! We have to find a way to get out of here!

_A figure appears, and You recognize him as Marcus. He looks to Magnolia._

**Marcus: **Princess of Faerghus… You will die for your father’s crimes!

_Marcus tries to strike Magnolia, but she is caught off guard and will clearly be hurt horribly by the strike. You jump in between Magnolia and Marcus, taking the hit to the back. Sharp pain erupts in your lower back, and You gasp in surprise._

**Magnolia: **Professor!

_You attack Marcus, severely injuring his shoulder._

**Marcus: **This isn’t over… I will win one of these days!

_Marcus disappears into the crowd._

**Magnolia: **Professor, I’m going to get you out of here! Stay awake, please!

_Magnolia picks You up and starts running. However, she trips, and You both go sprawling. You roll across the ground, your back pounding from pain._

**Magnolia: **Professor, please, stay with me! It’s going to be okay!

_You hear Seraphine’s voice in the back of your head._

**Seraphine: **Divine Pulse, I call upon your power! O Holy Sothis… Bring us salvation!

_The pain in your back vanishes, and your legs give out from beneath You. The ground beneath You has grown weak from the invasion, and You feel it crumble. A cry of surprise and fear forces itself from your mouth before your body goes limp, and your face goes to a resting position. You see Magnolia reaching her arm down over the cliff, crying out your name as you plummet downwards. You feel yourself falling before there is a flash of green light, and everything goes to black…_

**PART ONE: WHITE CLOUDS**

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this update is as late as it is I have the memory of a goldfish alskdfjalsdkfjlds
> 
> -Digital


	79. Chapter Twelve: Ripped from Bliss III (Black Eagles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You make the choice to follow Chris back to the Adrestian Empire, but disaster strikes soon after...

_On the day of graduation, You wake up rather early. Seraphine appears behind You, a sad smile on her face._

**Seraphine: **This is it... This is one of the last times we're going to be able to see your students. They're finally ready to go out and make their own world.

_You nod sadly and start to walk up to the audience chamber. When You arrive, You see Aisa and Cordelia standing with the three house leaders. No other people are present._

**Aisa: **Today is the day.

**Cordelia: **All of our kids are going to be heading out and graduating soon... How incredible.

**Chris: **This year went by so fast... I'm going to miss this place.

**Magnolia: **I've really grown a lot here. I hope I can take that growth and utilize it when I become the queen of Faerghus.

**Raithius: **It's unfortunate that we're going while Malice is still out there, but... I still think we've done a lot this year.

**Aisa: **Professor, the time has come for you to choose your own path. The future is yours to make. 

**Cordelia: **Any one of us would be happy to have you as part of our company.

**Chris: **We know that you'll make the choice that's right for you.

**Magnolia: **We won't judge you at all. Promise.

**Raithius: **So, Professor... What will it be?

_You look at all of their expectant, waiting faces. In the end, your gaze lingers on Raithius, and You realize that You wish to be with the Black Eagles. You voice this, confirming your allegiance when asked._

**Chris: **You really wish to come with me...? Oh, I'm honored. Thank you so much, Professor.

**Aisa: **The graduation ceremony will be starting soon. We should go and get ready.

**Cordelia: **I agree. We don't want to keep those kids waiting for too long.

**Raithius: **Time sure has flown by...

**Magnolia: **So much has changed.

_You walk out of the audience chamber alongside Chris, leaving the other four behind to talk to each other._

**Chris: **Professor... I can't say how things will be when we get to the Empire. However, I'll do my best to provide for you after I am crowned emperor. I want to repay you for all that you've done for me up to this point.

_You thank her for such but say that You truly don't need much._

**Chris: **I want to. This is what I want to do for you. I'm not doing this out of obligation. Okay?

_You nod hesitantly._

**Chris: **Thank you for agreeing, Professor. We should go and help everyone else with getting ready for graduation... I'll give you a seat next to me, if that's alright with you. We don't have time to tell my classmates, but I'm sure they'll figure it out soon enough.

_You agree._

**Chris: **Sounds good to me... Thank you again for coming with me. I truly do appreciate it. It means more to me than I could ever hope to say.

_You watch Chris walk away as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **The Black Eagles, huh... Your time as a teacher has come to a close, and now, you'll be part of the Adrestian army. Times sure do change quickly.

_You nod and follow Chris when Seraphine vanishes. You cannot help but think about the future and what it could possibly bring as You help to prepare for the graduation ceremony._

_A few hours later, You find yourself sitting next to Chris in the courtyard of the Officers Academy where the graduation is taking place. You look over to her, and she flashes You a grin._

**Chris: **This ceremony is our last chance to enjoy our time here. After graduation, we're all going to go our separate ways. I have faith that we'll figure out how to stay in contact, but I'll miss seeing everyone each day... I want to make these last few moments count!

_You nod to her before turning your attention towards the open space acting as a mock stage. Aisa is standing before the crowd, a small and serene smile on her features._

**Aisa: **Another year has come and gone at the Officers Academy... Another class has been taught and is ready to leave these cherished halls behind. The future awaits you all. You were invited here because you are the best and the brightest on the continent. It is your job to carve a fate for both yourself and those around you. Only you can say what you do with your future, so I implore you to enjoy it.

_Applause rises up from the crowd, and You join in on the clapping._

**Aisa: **I thank all of you for coming here today. It is time that we--

_Aisa is cut off when Cordelia runs in._

**Cordelia: **Lady Aisa!

**Aisa: **What is it?

**Cordelia: **There are soldiers from the Adrestian Empire surrounding the monastery! They're going to attack!

**Chris: **The Adrestian army...?! No way!

**Aisa: **Students, you have one final mission. All knights and students are to take up arms immediately. Please... Do not get yourselves killed. I beg of you. Everyone else, evacuate the monastery. Stay safe. Please.

_The crowd erupts into chaos. You remain close to Chris._

**Chris: **Let's find you a weapon. I think we're going to need them in the coming battle. Stay safe for me, alright?

_You follow after her as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **Attackers from the Adrestian Empire? But Hendrix is dead, and Chris is here! How could somebody be invading the monastery?! I don't get it, but I'm going to try and figure it out. You can count on that much.

_You nod your agreement, and Seraphine disappears. The world feels as if it is spinning around You, but You still manage to follow Chris and find a weapon._

**Chris: **The battle awaits... A lot of people are counting on us.

_You run after Chris to arrive outside the monastery alongside the other house leaders. Once there,You see many soldiers in the Adrestian Empire's armor. There are too many to count, but You notice one figure standing at the front of the crowd._

**Chris: **Argades?!

**Magnolia: **Who is that? How do you know him?

**Chris: **Argades von Doroftie. He's the heir of a minor house in the Adrestian Empire. But why is he here with all those soldiers?

**Raithius: **Whatever his reason is, I doubt it's anything good.

_You turn your attention to Argades._

**Argades: **Archbishop, I demand that you hand over the false emperor at once!

**Aisa: **What is he talking about...?!

**Cordelia: **If I had any ideas, I would have told you already.

**Chris: **False emperor...? Explain yourself at once!

**Argades: **Garreg Mach Monastery is harboring the killer of the previous emperor, and I demand that she be handed over for execution!

**Chris: **Me...? But Malice--

**Argades: **Malice had nothing to do with this.

**Chris: **What are you--

**Argades: **I'm the leader of the Malice factions in the Adrestian Empire. If one of my men had killed that coward, I would know about it.

**Magnolia: **The leader of Malice?!

**Raithius: **But only in the Adrestian Empire... There are multiple leaders.

**Argades: **Give me what I want immediately, and if you dare to defy me, this monastery will be swallowed up by my forces within the next day!

**Cordelia: **Lady Aisa, what do we do?!

**Aisa: **I...

**Argades: **The choice is yours, Archbishop. Surrender or be destroyed. My forces far outnumber yours, and you will lose this battle.

**Chris: **Those aren't just Malice forces... That's the entire damn Adrestian army!

**Magnolia: **How could he have done all this so quickly...?

**Raithius: **He's a lot more influential than he let on.

**Cordelia: **Lady Aisa, we're all ready to fight if you think that would be best.

**Aisa: **We have no choice... To arms, everyone!

_You ready your weapons and follow Chris to where the other Black Eagles are positioned. The map is filled with enemies from the Adrestian Empire and Malice, and your forces are clearly outnumbered. All recruited characters are together and are required for this map. All fighters who have not been recruited are green units positioned near yours at the top of the map. The green units who are defeated will retreat using their retreat quotes from when they are playable. Aisa stands at the center of the top of the map with Cordelia stationed near her._

**Chris:** There are so many of them...! Where did they all come from?!

**Polly:** I couldn't even begin to count them all off.

**Callisto: **I get the feeling this was brewing for a long time.

**Florence: **He had this in mind a long time ago for sure.

**Zelhira: **There are still more Malice soldiers showing themselves over the horizon.

**Tuncay: **Damn nobles, doing crap like this...

**Hegias: **What do we do about this?

**Aquillus: **Do we have any other options?

**Herwig: **We must fight. They'll kill us if we give in, so we'll have to try and get away using the battle.

**Chris:** Black Eagles, we unite for one last time! For Garreg Mach!

_The battle begins. The Black Eagles fight with a sense of experienced desperation, trying to push back the foes. Hopelessness is already starting to settle in, and despite everyone's wishes to live, there is a common belief that surviving to the end of the fight is not guaranteed. The mission is to defend the tiles behind Aisa while keeping her and Cordelia alive for twelve turns. Argades is positioned at the bottom of the map surrounded by countless fighters, and it seems nearly impossible to break through his ranks. If Argades is defeated, the map ends early._

_If You initiate combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **You are a true fool for coming after me... It matters little though. I will run my blade through you regardless.

_If Chris initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **False emperor...

**Argades: **You know it to be true just as much as I do.

**Chris: **...

**Argades: **You have been living a lie, living the life that should have been given to another from the start!

**Chris: **Argades--

**Argades: **Shut up! Just die already, damn it!

_If Polly initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Polly: **What do you know?

**Argades: **What don't I know is the real question here.

**Polly: **You--

**Argades: **I'm a lot smarter than you realize.

**Polly: **You are making a mistake.

**Argades: **By taking what is rightfully mine? Ha! Of course you would say that since you're the princess' lapdog!

**Polly: **She will be a far better ruler than you could ever hope to be!

**Argades: **She will not survive this battle! You will die just like her, so make your peace now!

_If Magnolia initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **I don't know who you are, but know that you won't get away with this!

**Argades: **Josefa... You know, a lot of people in Malice hate your father for what he did.

**Magnolia: **I never said I agreed with what he did.

**Argades: **If only they knew that... Perhaps your life could be spared then.

**Magnolia: **What are you--

**Argades: **Enough. I hope you've made peace with whatever god you pray to, because you're going to meet them!

_If Raithius initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **I don't know what you're getting at here. Could you explain it for me?

**Argades: **It's none of your concern.

**Raithius: **Touchy, aren't we?

**Argades: **Still your tongue! I've had enough of this!

**Raithius: **What a coincidence! So have I!

**Argades: **Die already!

_If anyone else initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **Fighting me? Pathetic... You don't stand a chance!

_If Argades is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **Fool... Don't believe that this ends the battle!

_If the map ends without Argades being defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **How stubborn you are... However, do not believe that this means you will succeed!

_Both options converge here._

**Argades: **I've had enough of this fighting. It grows tiresome. Swarm the monastery. Don't let anyone get away. Kill them all!

_You remain near Chris as chaos breaks out. Soldiers seem to be running every which way._

**Aisa: **Everyone, run! Try to escape! Evacuate the monastery!

**Chris: **We have no choice. Come on. We have to run!

_You run alongside Chris, but You stop when You notice that You both are cornered._

**Chris: **Damn it! Come on, let us out!

_A figure appears, and You recognize him as Argades. He looks to Chris._

**Argades: **False emperor... You die here!

**Chris: **Argades, I--

_Argades lashes out and stabs Chris in the stomach. She lets out a cry of pain, and she falls to the ground soon after. You run to her side to try and help her up, but sharp pain erupts in your lower back. You can tell that You have been stabbed as well, likely by a different weapon since the knife that hit Chris is still embedded in her stomach._

**Chris: **P-Professor...!

**Argades: **My work here is done. Goodbye, liar.

_Argades disappears into the crowd._

**Chris: **I-I'm sorry for causing you... So much trouble...

_Chris reaches out one hand, using white magic on You. The pain in your back eases, but You see Chris go limp soon after. You hear Seraphine's voice in the back of your head._

**Seraphine: **Divine Pulse, I call upon your power! O Holy Sothis... Bring us salvation!

_The pain in your back vanishes, and your legs give out from beneath You. The ground beneath You has grown weak from the invasion, and You feel it crumble. A cry of surprise and fear forces itself from your mouth before your body goes limp, and your face goes to a resting position. You feel yourself falling before there is a flash of green light, and everything goes to black..._

**PART ONE: WHITE CLOUDS**

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooooooo no
> 
> -Digital


	80. Chapter Twelve: Ripped from Bliss III (Knights of Seiros)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You make the choice to follow Cordelia as a member of the Knights of Seiros, but disaster strikes soon after...

_On the day of graduation, You wake up rather early. Seraphine appears behind You, a sad smile on her face._

**Seraphine: **This is it… This is one of the last times we’re going to be able to see your students. They’re finally ready to go out and make their own world.

_You nod sadly and start to walk up to the audience chamber. When You arrive, You see Aisa and Cordelia standing with the three house leaders. No other people are present._

**Aisa: **Today is the day.

**Cordelia: **All of our kids are going to be heading out and graduating soon… How incredible.

**Chris: **This year went by so fast… I’m going to miss this place.

**Magnolia: **I’ve really grown a lot here. I hope I can take that growth and utilize it when I become the queen of Faerghus.

**Raithius: **It’s unfortunate that we’re going while Malice is still out there, but… I still think we’ve done a lot this year.

**Aisa: **Professor, the time has come for you to choose your own path. The future is yours to make. 

**Cordelia: **Any one of us would be happy to have you as part of our company.

**Chris: **We know that you’ll make the choice that’s right for you.

**Magnolia: **We won’t judge you at all. Promise.

**Raithius: **So, Professor… What will it be?

_You look at all of their expectant, waiting faces. In the end, your gaze lingers on Raithius, and You realize that You wish to be with the Knights of Seiros. You voice this, confirming your allegiance when asked._

**Cordelia: **You’re going to become a knight, huh? I’m glad to hear it. You’ll like it for sure.

**Aisa: **The graduation ceremony will be starting soon. We should go and get ready.

**Chris: **I don’t want to keep everyone else waiting.

**Raithius: **Time sure has flown by…

**Magnolia: **So much has changed.

_You walk out of the audience chamber alongside Cordelia, leaving the other four behind to talk to each other._

**Cordelia: **You’ll be sticking around here after the ceremony comes to a close, and I’ll find you a position among my forces. You’ve certainly shown your prowess in battle, and I have to reward power like that well.

_You thank her for such but say that You truly don’t need much._

**Cordelia: **I want to do this for you. Don’t worry about it.

_You nod hesitantly._

**Cordelia: **I’m glad you understand. Now, we have a graduation to get ready for, and it starts in a few hours. The knights are going to be excited when they hear about this… But setting up should be our first priority.

_You agree._

**Cordelia: **We can talk more about the details later on. For now, we have business to attend to.

_You watch Cordelia walk away as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **The Knights of Seiros, huh… Your time as a teacher has come to a close, and now, you’ll be part of the church army. Times sure do change quickly.

_You nod and follow Cordelia when Seraphine vanishes. You cannot help but think about the future and what it could possibly bring as You help to prepare for the graduation ceremony._

_A few hours later, You find yourself sitting alone in the courtyard of the Officers Academy where the graduation is taking place. Cordelia is busy on guard duty, but You are going to watch the ceremony since your students will be leaving the school behind. You turn your attention towards the open space acting as a mock stage. Aisa is standing before the crowd, a small and serene smile on her features._

**Aisa: **Another year has come and gone at the Officers Academy… Another class has been taught and is ready to leave these cherished halls behind. The future awaits you all. You were invited here because you are the best and the brightest on the continent. It is your job to carve a fate for both yourself and those around you. Only you can say what you do with your future, so I implore you to enjoy it.

_Applause rises up from the crowd, and You join in on the clapping._

**Aisa: **I thank all of you for coming here today. It is time that we--

_Aisa is cut off when Cordelia runs in. Seraphine appears at your side._

**Cordelia: **Lady Aisa!

**Aisa: **What is it?

**Cordelia: **There are soldiers from the Adrestian Empire surrounding the monastery! They’re going to attack!

**Seraphine: **The Adrestian army…?! This can’t be real…!

**Aisa: **Students, you have one final mission. All knights and students are to take up arms immediately. Please… Do not get yourselves killed. I beg of you. Everyone else, evacuate the monastery. Stay safe. Please.

_The crowd erupts into chaos. You run over to Cordelia._

**Cordelia: **Get ready for the coming fight. We don’t have time to lose.

_You follow after her as Seraphine continues to speak._

**Seraphine: **Attackers from the Adrestian Empire? But Hendrix is dead, and Chris is here! How could somebody be invading the monastery?! I don’t get it, but I’m going to try and figure it out. You can count on that much.

_You nod your agreement, and Seraphine disappears. The world feels as if it is spinning around You, but You still manage to follow Cordelia and find a weapon._

**Cordelia: **For the church’s sake, we must endure today!

_You run after Cordelia to arrive outside the monastery where the house leaders are standing. Once there,You see many soldiers in the Adrestian Empire’s armor. There are too many to count, but You notice one figure standing at the front of the crowd._

**Chris: **Argades?!

**Magnolia: **Who is that? How do you know him?

**Chris: **Argades von Doroftie. He’s the heir of a minor house in the Adrestian Empire. But why is he here with all those soldiers?

**Raithius: **Whatever his reason is, I doubt it’s anything good.

_You turn your attention to Argades._

**Argades: **Archbishop, I demand that you hand over the false emperor at once!

**Aisa: **What is he talking about…?!

**Cordelia: **If I had any ideas, I would have told you already.

**Chris: **False emperor…? Explain yourself at once!

**Argades: **Garreg Mach Monastery is harboring the killer of the previous emperor, and I demand that she be handed over for execution!

**Chris: **Me…? But Malice--

**Argades: **Malice had nothing to do with this.

**Chris: **What are you--

**Argades: **I’m the leader of the Malice factions in the Adrestian Empire. If one of my men had killed that coward, I would know about it.

**Magnolia: **The leader of Malice?!

**Raithius: **But only in the Adrestian Empire… There are multiple leaders.

**Argades: **Give me what I want immediately, and if you dare to defy me, this monastery will be swallowed up by my forces within the next day!

**Cordelia: **Lady Aisa, what do we do?!

**Aisa: **I…

**Argades: **The choice is yours, Archbishop. Surrender or be destroyed. My forces far outnumber yours, and you will lose this battle.

**Chris: **Those aren’t just Malice forces… That’s the entire damn Adrestian army!

**Magnolia: **How could he have done all this so quickly…?

**Raithius: **He’s a lot more influential than he let on.

**Cordelia: **Lady Aisa, we’re all ready to fight if you think that would be best.

**Aisa: **We have no choice… To arms, everyone!

_You ready your weapons and follow Cordelia to where the other Knights of Seiros are positioned. The map is filled with enemies from the Adrestian Empire and Malice, and your forces are clearly outnumbered. All recruited characters are together and are required for this map. All fighters who have not been recruited are green units positioned near yours at the top of the map. The green units who are defeated will retreat using their retreat quotes from when they are playable. Aisa stands at the center of the top of the map with Cordelia stationed near her. Cordelia isn’t able to move out of an outlined region at the top of the map._

**Cordelia:** There are too many to count…

**Derric:** This can’t be real…!

**Yuliya:** Knowing nobles, this was planned a long time ago.

**Piers: **How long has this been plotted out…?

**Kaeta: **More are still coming. Look over the horizon.

**Rodain: **They must be from Malice’s other factions.

**Wynne: **What the hell do we do about it?

**Miriam: **We have to fight. They’ll kill us if we surrender, so we’ll have to bite and struggle all the way down.

**Cordelia:** Knights of Seiros, get ready for battle! We have to save the monastery!

_The battle begins. The Knights of Seiros fight with a sense of experienced desperation, trying to push back the foes. Hopelessness is already starting to settle in, and despite everyone’s wishes to live, there is a common belief that surviving to the end of the fight is not guaranteed. The mission is to defend the tiles behind Aisa while keeping her and Cordelia alive for twelve turns. Argades is positioned at the bottom of the map surrounded by countless fighters, and it seems nearly impossible to break through his ranks. If Argades is defeated, the map ends early._

_If You initiate combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **You are a true fool for coming after me… It matters little though. I will run my blade through you regardless.

_If Chris initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **False emperor…

**Argades: **You know it to be true just as much as I do.

**Chris: **…

**Argades: **You have been living a lie, living the life that should have been given to another from the start!

**Chris: **Argades--

**Argades: **Shut up! Just die already, damn it!

_If Polly initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Polly: **What do you know?

**Argades: **What don’t I know is the real question here.

**Polly: **You--

**Argades: **I’m a lot smarter than you realize.

**Polly: **You are making a mistake.

**Argades: **By taking what is rightfully mine? Ha! Of course you would say that since you’re the princess’ lapdog!

**Polly: **She will be a far better ruler than you could ever hope to be!

**Argades: **She will not survive this battle! You will die just like her, so make your peace now!

_If Magnolia initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **I don’t know who you are, but know that you won’t get away with this!

**Argades: **Josefa… You know, a lot of people in Malice hate your father for what he did.

**Magnolia: **I never said I agreed with what he did.

**Argades: **If only they knew that… Perhaps your life could be spared then.

**Magnolia: **What are you--

**Argades: **Enough. I hope you’ve made peace with whatever god you pray to, because you’re going to meet them!

_If Raithius initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **I don’t know what you’re getting at here. Could you explain it for me?

**Argades: **It’s none of your concern.

**Raithius: **Touchy, aren’t we?

**Argades: **Still your tongue! I’ve had enough of this!

**Raithius: **What a coincidence! So have I!

**Argades: **Die already!

_If anyone else initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **Fighting me? Pathetic… You don’t stand a chance!

_If Argades is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **Fool… Don’t believe that this ends the battle!

_If the map ends without Argades being defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **How stubborn you are… However, do not believe that this means you will succeed!

_Both options converge here._

**Argades: **I’ve had enough of this fighting. It grows tiresome. Swarm the monastery. Don’t let anyone get away. Kill them all!

_You remain near Cordelia as chaos breaks out. Soldiers seem to be running every which way._

**Aisa: **Everyone, run! Try to escape! Evacuate the monastery!

**Cordelia: **I hate to leave this place behind, but the battle is hopeless. We have to get out of here!

_You run alongside Cordelia, but You stop when You notice that You have lost Cordelia in the crowd. You glance around frantically to try and find her, but You realize that she is no longer anywhere near You. A mysterious man appears behind You while You are occupied with locating Cordelia. You cannot see him, but You can hear his voice._

**???: **You have been a thorn in our side for far too long… It’s time for you to die!

_You feel a sharp pain in your back, and You know that You have been stabbed. Shock shows itself on your features._

**???: **Goodbye, Professor.

_The person behind You disappears. You stumble, hearing Seraphine’s voice in the back of your head._

**Seraphine: **Divine Pulse, I call upon your power! O Holy Sothis… Bring us salvation!

_The pain in your back vanishes, and your legs give out from beneath You. The ground beneath You has grown weak from the invasion, and You feel it crumble. A cry of surprise and fear forces itself from your mouth before your body goes limp, and your face goes to a resting position. You feel yourself falling before there is a flash of green light, and everything goes to black…_

**PART ONE: WHITE CLOUDS**

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week part one is going to be over guys that is crazy
> 
> -Digital


	81. Chapter Twelve: Ripped from Bliss III (Church of Seiros)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You make the choice to follow Aisa as a member of the Church of Seiros, but disaster strikes soon after...

_On the day of graduation, You wake up rather early. Seraphine appears behind You, a sad smile on her face._

**Seraphine: **This is it… This is one of the last times we’re going to be able to see your students. They’re finally ready to go out and make their own world.

_You nod sadly and start to walk up to the audience chamber. When You arrive, You see Aisa and Cordelia standing with the three house leaders. No other people are present._

**Aisa: **Today is the day.

**Cordelia: **All of our kids are going to be heading out and graduating soon… How incredible.

**Chris: **This year went by so fast… I’m going to miss this place.

**Magnolia: **I’ve really grown a lot here. I hope I can take that growth and utilize it when I become the queen of Faerghus.

**Raithius: **It’s unfortunate that we’re going while Malice is still out there, but… I still think we’ve done a lot this year.

**Aisa: **Professor, the time has come for you to choose your own path. The future is yours to make. 

**Cordelia: **Any one of us would be happy to have you as part of our company.

**Chris: **We know that you’ll make the choice that’s right for you.

**Magnolia: **We won’t judge you at all. Promise.

**Raithius: **So, Professor… What will it be?

_You look at all of their expectant, waiting faces. In the end, your gaze lingers on Raithius, and You realize that You wish to be with the Church of Seiros. You voice this, confirming your allegiance when asked._

**Aisa: **Staying with the Church of Seiros… Thank you for such, Professor. I appreciate it.

**Cordelia: **The graduation ceremony will be starting soon. We should prepare for it.

**Chris: **I don’t want to keep everyone else waiting.

**Raithius: **Time sure has flown by…

**Magnolia: **So much has changed.

_You walk out of the audience chamber alongside Aisa, leaving the other four behind to talk to each other._

**Aisa: **After the graduation comes to a close, you will be remaining here. As for what you will do from here… I am unsure. However, I am sure that we will find an answer soon enough. I will be sure to give you a life that will suit how much you have done for the church.

_You thank her for such but say that You truly don’t need much._

**Aisa: **It would be my pleasure. Do not worry.

_You nod hesitantly._

**Aisa: **Thank you for accepting, Professor. The others in the church will be happy to hear of your decision. Now, we should go and prepare for the graduation. We do not have time to lose.

_You agree._

**Aisa: **The details can be left for later. For now, other business must be taken care of.

_You watch Aisa walk away as Seraphine appears._

**Seraphine: **The Church of Seiros, huh… Your time as a teacher has come to a close, and now, you’ll be part of the church. Times sure do change quickly.

_You nod and follow Cordelia when Seraphine vanishes. You cannot help but think about the future and what it could possibly bring as You help to prepare for the graduation ceremony._

_A few hours later, You find yourself sitting alone in the courtyard of the Officers Academy where the graduation is taking place. Aisa is busy presenting for the ceremony, leaving You alone for the time being. You turn your attention towards the open space acting as a mock stage. Aisa is standing before the crowd, a small and serene smile on her features._

**Aisa: **Another year has come and gone at the Officers Academy… Another class has been taught and is ready to leave these cherished halls behind. The future awaits you all. You were invited here because you are the best and the brightest on the continent. It is your job to carve a fate for both yourself and those around you. Only you can say what you do with your future, so I implore you to enjoy it.

_Applause rises up from the crowd, and You join in on the clapping._

**Aisa: **I thank all of you for coming here today. It is time that we--

_Aisa is cut off when Cordelia runs in. Seraphine appears at your side._

**Cordelia: **Lady Aisa!

**Aisa: **What is it?

**Cordelia: **There are soldiers from the Adrestian Empire surrounding the monastery! They’re going to attack!

**Seraphine: **The Adrestian army…?! This can’t be real…!

**Aisa: **Students, you have one final mission. All knights and students are to take up arms immediately. Please… Do not get yourselves killed. I beg of you. Everyone else, evacuate the monastery. Stay safe. Please.

_The crowd erupts into chaos. You run over to Aisa._

**Aisa: **Professor, I am counting on you… We need to fight immediately. Prepare yourself.

_You follow after her as Seraphine continues to speak._

**Seraphine: **Attackers from the Adrestian Empire? But Hendrix is dead, and Chris is here! How could somebody be invading the monastery?! I don’t get it, but I’m going to try and figure it out. You can count on that much.

_You nod your agreement, and Seraphine disappears. The world feels as if it is spinning around You, but You still manage to follow Aisa and find a weapon._

**Aisa: **We need to defend the monastery until everyone can get away… People are relying on us to succeed.

_You run after Aisa to arrive outside the monastery where the house leaders are standing. Once there,You see many soldiers in the Adrestian Empire’s armor. There are too many to count, but You notice one figure standing at the front of the crowd._

**Chris: **Argades?!

**Magnolia: **Who is that? How do you know him?

**Chris: **Argades von Doroftie. He’s the heir of a minor house in the Adrestian Empire. But why is he here with all those soldiers?

**Raithius: **Whatever his reason is, I doubt it’s anything good.

_You turn your attention to Argades._

**Argades: **Archbishop, I demand that you hand over the false emperor at once!

**Aisa: **What is he talking about…?!

**Cordelia: **If I had any ideas, I would have told you already.

**Chris: **False emperor…? Explain yourself at once!

**Argades: **Garreg Mach Monastery is harboring the killer of the previous emperor, and I demand that she be handed over for execution!

**Chris: **Me…? But Malice--

**Argades: **Malice had nothing to do with this.

**Chris: **What are you--

**Argades: **I’m the leader of the Malice factions in the Adrestian Empire. If one of my men had killed that coward, I would know about it.

**Magnolia: **The leader of Malice?!

**Raithius: **But only in the Adrestian Empire… There are multiple leaders.

**Argades: **Give me what I want immediately, and if you dare to defy me, this monastery will be swallowed up by my forces within the next day!

**Cordelia: **Lady Aisa, what do we do?!

**Aisa: **I…

**Argades: **The choice is yours, Archbishop. Surrender or be destroyed. My forces far outnumber yours, and you will lose this battle.

**Chris: **Those aren’t just Malice forces… That’s the entire damn Adrestian army!

**Magnolia: **How could he have done all this so quickly…?

**Raithius: **He’s a lot more influential than he let on.

**Cordelia: **Lady Aisa, we’re all ready to fight if you think that would be best.

**Aisa: **We have no choice… To arms, everyone!

_You ready your weapons and follow Aissa to where the other officials in the Church of Seiros are positioned. The map is filled with enemies from the Adrestian Empire and Malice, and your forces are clearly outnumbered. All recruited characters are together and are required for this map. All fighters who have not been recruited are green units positioned near yours at the top of the map. The green units who are defeated will retreat using their retreat quotes from when they are playable. Aisa stands at the center of the top of the map with Cordelia stationed near her. Aisa isn’t able to move out of an outlined region at the top of the map._

**Aisa:** This is it… War.

**Reese:** I’ve never seen so many soldiers.

**Jill:** I knew this year was an indicator of something bad.

**Herwig: **The signs of war were there for a long time.

**Niko: **There are still more soldiers on the way too.

**Nesreen: **I’m willing to bet that they’re from Malice.

**Adrian: **What should we do?

**Roy: **We need to fight. Surrender is equal to death, and we need to find a way to survive.

**Aisa:** The battle awaits… Get ready to fight!

_The battle begins. The Church of Seiros fights with a sense of experienced desperation, trying to push back the foes. Hopelessness is already starting to settle in, and despite everyone’s wishes to live, there is a common belief that surviving to the end of the fight is not guaranteed. The mission is to defend the tiles behind Aisa while keeping her and Cordelia alive for twelve turns. Argades is positioned at the bottom of the map surrounded by countless fighters, and it seems nearly impossible to break through his ranks. If Argades is defeated, the map ends early._

_If You initiate combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **You are a true fool for coming after me… It matters little though. I will run my blade through you regardless.

_If Chris initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Chris: **False emperor…

**Argades: **You know it to be true just as much as I do.

**Chris: **…

**Argades: **You have been living a lie, living the life that should have been given to another from the start!

**Chris: **Argades--

**Argades: **Shut up! Just die already, damn it!

_If Polly initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Polly: **What do you know?

**Argades: **What don’t I know is the real question here.

**Polly: **You--

**Argades: **I’m a lot smarter than you realize.

**Polly: **You are making a mistake.

**Argades: **By taking what is rightfully mine? Ha! Of course you would say that since you’re the princess’ lapdog!

**Polly: **She will be a far better ruler than you could ever hope to be!

**Argades: **She will not survive this battle! You will die just like her, so make your peace now!

_If Magnolia initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Magnolia: **I don’t know who you are, but know that you won’t get away with this!

**Argades: **Josefa… You know, a lot of people in Malice hate your father for what he did.

**Magnolia: **I never said I agreed with what he did.

**Argades: **If only they knew that… Perhaps your life could be spared then.

**Magnolia: **What are you--

**Argades: **Enough. I hope you’ve made peace with whatever god you pray to, because you’re going to meet them!

_If Raithius initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Raithius: **I don’t know what you’re getting at here. Could you explain it for me?

**Argades: **It’s none of your concern.

**Raithius: **Touchy, aren’t we?

**Argades: **Still your tongue! I’ve had enough of this!

**Raithius: **What a coincidence! So have I!

**Argades: **Die already!

_If anyone else initiates combat with Argades, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **Fighting me? Pathetic… You don’t stand a chance!

_If Argades is defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **Fool… Don’t believe that this ends the battle!

_If the map ends without Argades being defeated, this dialogue plays out._

**Argades: **How stubborn you are… However, do not believe that this means you will succeed!

_Both options converge here._

**Argades: **I’ve had enough of this fighting. It grows tiresome. Swarm the monastery. Don’t let anyone get away. Kill them all!

_You remain near Aisa as chaos breaks out. Soldiers seem to be running every which way._

**Aisa: **Everyone, run! Try to escape! Evacuate the monastery!

_You run alongside Aisa, but You stop when You notice that You have lost Aisa in the crowd. You glance around frantically to try and find her, but You realize that she is no longer anywhere near You. A mysterious man appears behind You while You are occupied with locating Aisa. You cannot see him, but You can hear his voice._

**???: **You have been a thorn in our side for far too long… It’s time for you to die!

_You feel a sharp pain in your back, and You know that You have been stabbed. Shock shows itself on your features._

**???: **Goodbye, Professor.

_The person behind You disappears. You stumble, hearing Seraphine’s voice in the back of your head._

**Seraphine: **Divine Pulse, I call upon your power! O Holy Sothis… Bring us salvation!

_The pain in your back vanishes, and your legs give out from beneath You. The ground beneath You has grown weak from the invasion, and You feel it crumble. A cry of surprise and fear forces itself from your mouth before your body goes limp, and your face goes to a resting position. You feel yourself falling before there is a flash of green light, and everything goes to black…_

**PART ONE: WHITE CLOUDS**

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, Part One has drawn to a close! 
> 
> This story is going to be taking a hiatus for the time being as I gather my bearings and determine what is coming next. I have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to be doing from here, but I would like to sort through it all first. 
> 
> Next time I update this series, we're going to be starting the first path of Part Two! I'm hyped as hell, and I hope you guys are too! 
> 
> One last time, 
> 
> -Digital

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoying my work? If you wish to receive updates on when I post new content, feel free to check out my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/__digitaldreams)  
or [Discord server.](https://discord.gg/9MBReeF)  
I occasionally post previews of upcoming stories on both, and there are discussion chats for my series on Discord. Any sharing of my content or other interaction (kudos, comments, bookmarks, etc.) is greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading, and I hope you're liking it so far!


End file.
